Cardfight Gakuen Gaiden
by akiye94
Summary: This is the story of Aaron, a promising Cardfighter who wished to enter Cardfight Gakuen, a school where all its students are Cardfighters like him too.
1. A New Beginning

20XX A.D. The world fell into chaos due to an invasion from beings of outer space. With a metallic surface on their bodies and black red rings around their arms and legs, these so called "Iseijin" came and rob humanity of everything they have; their families, friends, and also their very own lives. Amidst this disaster, one person stood up and-

...Oh sorry, that was the wrong beginning.

The sky was clear with little hint of clouds floating around. It was one of those sunny yet cool days in the middle of April, petals of white Sakura dropping from its branches and flew along with the soft blowing breeze.

"Is it really alright, Onii-chan? You don't have to do it if you don't want to, you know."

On a certain path between the sakura trees, two people were walking together side by side. One was a teenage boy around 15 to 16 years old, while the other was a teenage girl who looked a year younger than the teenage boy.

"Don't worry, Kanade. Just believe in this Onii-chan of yours."

The boy with dark blue hair and eyes gave a reassuring smile to the blonde twin-tailed girl with emerald eyes. Like him, his sister was also wearing her school uniform; a combination of white and blue different from her brother who wore the traditional all black uniform.

"But if you were to lose-"

"Then I'll just have to take the exam against next year. It's not a bad idea if you think about it, since we get to take the exam together then."

No words came from the girl as she fell into silence. The two continued to walk along the road which was neither empty nor full of people in that moment of tranquillity.

"Anyway, just leave it to me. I'll definitely prove to you that this deck is not as weak as you thought it is."

The boy held the pink box he took out from his pocket earlier and raised it high in his right hand, showing it to the girl with a smile full of confidence. Seeing her brother's smile made a smile appear on the girl's face too, her heart filled with belief in the words of her brother.

The cheers coming from the huge dome-like building became louder and louder as the brother-sister pair approached it. The building is known as the USSS (United Sanctuary Sphere Stadium), a gigantic place known to have held many famous events in the past, including the one that the teenage boy had planned to participate.

* * *

"Take this! Ultimate Break, Vermillion Catastrophe!"

"Protect me, Shirayuki! Stealth Arts: Petal Snow Storm!"

The cheers inside the stadium exploded as the red lightning dragon and the white-skinned miko-like youkai clashed their powers together, leaving sparks of lightning and trails of snow to scatter vigorously all around them. Of course, these were only special effects created using VR (Virtual Reality) technology thus none within the crowd are affected by the raging power.

"This is boring. Why are we here again?"

Sitting on a seat at the most top row inside the stadium, the girl clearly showed her dissatisfaction after letting out a sigh neither heavy nor soft. White blonde hair tied into a ponytail which flowed all over her back, blood red eyes with cat-like irises and white skin skin as pure as snow itself. Her appearance along with the long purple coat truly gave her an impression of being the final boss of an RPG.

"It's our duty as the academy's representatives to observe fresh applicants of our glorious academy and to research their playstyles in order to improve our own, is what they told us I think."

Standing behind the seat to the girl's right was a teenager who just used a bad impression of an intellectual way of speech. The design was a bit different and the colour was blue, but he was also wearing the same long coat as the girl.

"What research? All I see is people attacking units using the wrong units and guarding against attacks at the wrong timing. They also use their Counterblasts and Soulblasts without a care in the world and got stuck in situations where they really need to use them but can no longer do so."

"Well, that's what I think they want us to research about, my dear sweet Akiye..."

"If you call me like that again, I'll rip off that Tetra Drive Dragon you cared so much in that deck of yours, Juchen."

"Urgh... P-Please spare me from that suffering... Just imagining it makes me want to kill myself."

"Good. Continue to do so and jump off a cliff or something. That would help me very much in researching my own play style like the academy told us to."

"Aren't you being a little bit too cruel here?! Isn't it suppose to be you comforting me who is broken-hearted for having the greatest card in the world ripped into pieces?!"

The cheers became louder once more when the fight between the two on the stage in the middle of the stadium ended, the winner being the instructor who used the red lightning dragon; Dragonic Kaiser Vermillion the Blood of Narukami.

"This is really boring... I should have gone to the theme park with the others if I knew just watching would be this boring."

"Why did you volunteer to come here as a student representative, anyway? Unlike me whose younger brother is taking part in today's entrance exam, you shouldn't have any reason to be here, Akiye-san."

"No idea. I just felt like coming here all of a sudden, that's all."

"Heh~ Well, if you think about it carefully, this can be considered as a date between the two of us!"

"Any more of your jokes in that disgusting playboy tone and I'll burn your entire room which is filled with those Aqua Force cards you love so much, Juchen."

"I'm sorry. Please forget everything that I've said just now."

Letting out another sigh, Akiye kept her eyes on the stage as she waited for the next round to begin.

"E-Excuse me..."

"Hmm?"

When Akiye looked to her side, a blonde twin-tailed girl was standing a bit away from her. There were signs of nervousness all over the young girl's face.

"Wow, aren't you a cute lady?"

Kanade paused for a while due to being called cute by Juchen.

"I-Is this seat taken?"

"No, it's free if you wish to sit on it."

"T-Then, excuse me... Fuh... And I thought that I would never find an open seat. It's really crowded today, isn't it?"

"Well, it is the practical exam for the Cardfight Gakuen Entrance Examination after all. Watching the fights of the instructors of the academy is something not to be missed."

"Hey, what's your name, Ojou-chan? How old are you? Do you play Vanguard too?"

"Eh? Err, I'm Kanade. I'm in my 3rd year of junior high and yes, I-I do play Vanguard a bit..."

"Heh~ Do you want to go and have tea with me after this? I can teach you lots of stuffs about using Aqua Force decks."

"Eh? Ah, no, t-that's a bit..."

"Stop it, Juchen. Can't you see that you're just making her feel troubled even more? Or do you want me to flush you deck down the toilet along with that head of yours?"

"...Fine, I'll stop. But it's not because I'm afraid that you're going to flush my head into the toilet. Oh no, I'm doing it in order to protect my Aqua Force."

"Sorry about that. This guy likes to hit on girls, especially those known to be younger than him. That's why he's known as a lolicon in our year."

"Hey! Don't just make up a lie like that! I'm not a lolicon!"

"Then can you explain why you have 4 Astreas in all of your Aqua Force decks?"

"T-That's because... S-She's cute and useful, p-plus I can put extra pressure on those fighting my Aqua Force, that's all."

"Hmph. That's why you're a lolicon."

"Like I said, I'm not a lolicon!"

As Akiye and Juchen quarreled, the awkward smile on Kanade's face continued while she looked at them.

"Ahaha... Are you two also joining the entrance exam today?"

"Nope. We've already taken the entrance exam last year. I did it here while Akiye-san took the exam at her home country."

"Eh? Then that means you two are students of Cardfight Gakuen?"

"Yep. I'm Juchen, a 2nd year of Sapphire Class."

"Akiye, the same year but of Amber Class."

"Eh... So the clothes you're wearing are the school uniform. It looks really cool."

"Ahaha, that's a bit incorrect, Kanade-san. The normal school uniform in Cardfight Gakuen is only a plain shirt coloured according what Class you are. There are six classes for your information: Amber, Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald, Amethyst and Fluorite. Everyone is divided into dorms according to those objects which represent the colours yellow, red, blue, green, purple and grey."

"The ones we're wearing are for those who are one of the best in their own Class, the so-called Class Reps. One of the privileges of being a Class Rep is that other than wearing this coat, we can also choose any kind of colour we want for it. That's why mine is purple although I belong to the Amber Class which shirt colour is yellow."

"I belong to the Sapphire Class, plus I love Aqua Force so I chose blue for my coat."

"Eh... So the both of you are really strong… That's amazing! I hope to be a Class Rep too after passing the exam next year."

"Well, good luck then. I'll come and give you my support if I can next year."

"T-Thank you, Akiye-Neesan!"

"C-Calling me Neesan is a bit..."

The crowd's cheers became louder while Akiye remained blushing. The next round of the entrance exam was about to begin as the dark-blue haired figure in black uniform all too familiar to Kanade was walking towards the stage with a smile on his face.

"Ah, it's Onii-chan. Good luck, Onii-chan!"

"Onii-chan? Is that person your brother, Kanade-chan?"

"Ah, yes. Although we don't look the same, he's my brother. I came here today because I want to give my support to him."

"Heh~ So your reason for coming here is also the same as mine, Kanade-san. What a coincidence. I also came here in order to cheer for my younger brother, although all that became a waste since he got grade-locked and failed the practical exam."

Another person appeared from the other side of the stadium as he too approached the stage in the middle. An even louder cheer rang inside the stadium when the examination instructor for Kanade's brother came into sight.

"No way, that's Gai-sensei isn't it?"

"Ouch, looks like that brother of yours is going to find himself in a bit of a pinch, Kanade-san."

"Eh? Why is that, Juchen-senpai?"

"Senpai... She called me senpai... That sounds really nice..."

"Eh? J-Juchen-senpai? Are you alright?"

"Never mind him, Kanade. Nobody has ever called him Senpai before, especially a younger girl like you. That's why he's an incurable lolicon."

"Again, stop saying that I'm a lolicon!"

Akiye let out a cough as she ignored Juchen's roar.

"Back to about Gai-sensei, he's a former member of a national-level team which once won the Nationals before a few years ago. Although he's the weakest of the three-man team, his performance and magnificent skills has earned him the title "Gladiator" of his team."

"Eh... EHHH?! I-Is my brother going to be alright against such an opponent?"

"...I don't know. You'll have to pray that he doesn't manage to use his finishing move on your brother."

"Hahaha, but that's impossible you know. He always managed to pull that one off whenever he fights with the other students. Although it's not perfect, it's enough to give even you or me trouble whenever we fight against him, Akiye-san."

"I-Is this finishing move of him really that strong?"

"Well, let's just say that even a perfect guard won't be of much help against such a move. It's that strong."

"No way... _I-If Onii-chan loses, then it will be all my fault!_"

Kanade looked at her brother who was standing on the stage together with the strong Gai-sensei Akiye and Juchen had told her about. Her heart was filled of worry and guilt.


	2. Gai VS Aaron

The Cardfight Gakuen Entrance Exam. It is an annual exam one would have to take in order to attend Cardfight Gakuen; the most famous school in the world which offers the highest education and best facilities to their students. The written exam is simple and easy to pass as long as you have finish junior high standard, but the practical exam has a difficulty so high that most Cardfighters were never able to pass.

And he, Aaron is facing one of the reasons the practical exam is ranked difficulty S by the CV critics.

"To think that I'll face the Gladiator for my exam... Isn't that a bit too cruel for first-timers?"

"Yo. So you're my opponent for this round?"

"Ah, yes. The name's Aaron. Nice to meet you."

"Nice you to meet you too. Let's have a good fight, shall we?"

The ponytailed man with a classic Western coat, Gai placed a card face-down on the red circle of the VR Fight Table before placing his deck on the space provided. Aaron did the same, although it was after he had closed his eyes for a moment while holding the deck to his chest.

Everyone, let's work hard and show to my sister that you all can fight even the strongest of decks.

At the same time, both Gai and Aaron shuffled their decks and drew five cards. Selecting the cards that they did not need, they returned those cards back to the deck, re-shuffled and drew the same number of cards they had put into the deck a while ago.

"Are you ready?"

"I can start anytime."

The two then placed their right hand on the face-down card laid on the Vanguard Circle. In that instant, the gaze in their eyes sharpened while they both flipped their starting Vanguard face-up at the same time, saying the keyword which activated the VR Fight Table and marked the start of their Fight.

""STAND UP, (MY) VANGUARD!""

Adding a 'my' to his words, a circle of light appeared beside Aaron as the same circle too appeared beside Gai. From their respective circles, a unit appeared on the two's side while the glow of light disappeared.

"Dimensional Robo, Daimagnum."

"Battle Sister, Waffle."

Like that, a purple mech with thrice the height of Gai stood beside him strongly, while a short nun with long ears and small guns everywhere stood beside Aaron in a cute, gunsman-like pose.

"Oracle Think Tank, furthermore it's a Battle Sister. The same as Nee-san's deck, huh?"

"Dimension Police, huh? So he's using his own deck for this exam. This is going to be tough..."

"I'll start first, draw. I ride Dimensional Robo, Daitiger. Daimagnum moves. Turn end. **(H:5 D:0)**

"My turn then, draw. I ride Battle Sister, Maple. Waffle moves. Next, I call Battle Sister, Omelet. First, Maple attacks Daitiger. With her skill, she gains 3000 when I have four or more cards in hand whenever she attacks. (P:9000)

After Gai declared no guard, Aaron checked the top card of his deck, the so-called Drive Check. Revealing no trigger, he added the card into his hand.

"Damage check. No trigger."

"Next, with a boost from Waffle, Omelet attacks Daitiger. Since I have no cards in the soul, she gains 3000 when she attacks! (P:15000)

"No guard. Damage check, draw trigger. I give power to Daitiger and I draw one card."

"Turn end." **(H:5 D:0)**

Undisturbed by the two damage dealt by Aaron, Gai remained his calm composure as he draw a card.

"I ride Dimensional Robo, Daifighter. Then I call Daitiger and Daidragon."

_"He's coming... Brace yourself, Maple."_

_"Aye, sir!"_

The red-haired nun responded without moving her lips and kept smiling with the huge battle axe in hand. Her words were heard inside of Aaron's mind using the same way he used to warn her.

"Daitiger attacks Omelet. Using its skill, if I have a Vanguard with 'Dimensional Robo' on its name, it gains 3000 when it attacks. (P:10000)

_"Kyaa!"_

The lunge of the mechanical tiger hit Omelet, causing her to disappear into tiny particles of light while her card was moved to the Drop Zone.

"Next, with a boost from Daimagnum, Daifighter attacks your Vanguard! (P:15000) Drive trigger check, critical trigger. I give power to Daidragon and +1 critical to Daifighter."

The huge robot hits Maple with its steel fists upgraded by the power-up from the trigger, resulting in twice the damage dealt to the human-sized Maple.

_"A-Are you alright, Maple?"_

_"Yes... I'm fine... That hurt a bit more than I expected."_

Two cards went into Aaron's Damage Zone, both without any triggers.

"Daidragon attacks your Vanguard. With its skill, it gains another 3000. (P:17000)"

Given no room to even take a breath, Maple was once again assaulted with pain when the mechanical dragon blasted her with electricity.

_"Maple!"_

_"Still okay... I can handle this much... Ugh..."_

As Maple stood back up to her feet, Aaron did a damage check and revealed another card without triggers.

"Turn end." **(H:5 D:2)**

"Stand and draw." "_You can take a rest now, Maple."_

_"Aye, sir... I'll leave it to my other sisters..."_

"I ride Battle Sister, Tarte! Then I activate Waffle's Counterblast."

Flipping a card on his damage zone and putting Waffle into the soul, Aaron took the top three cards of his deck and looked at them. After selecting one, he put the remaining cards at the bottom of the deck.

"I superior call Battle Sister, Macaron! Due to Waffle's skill, she gets an additional 2000 until the end of the turn. Next, I call Battle Sister, Mocha and Battle Sister, Cream. First, I attack Daifighter using Tarte!" (P:10000)

_"Roger... Target, lock on... Fire..."_

Aiming at the mech's head, Tarte fired her Anti-Tank Grenade Launcher with deadly accuracy. However, the grenade fired exploded before reaching the mech as a vehicle-like unit suddenly appeared and blocked it with its body.

"I guard with Dimensional Robo, Daibattles." (S:10000)

"Drive trigger check. No trigger. Next, with a boost from Cream, Mocha attacks Daifighter! Like Maple, she gains an additional 3000 when I have 4 or more cards in my hand whenever she attacks." (P:17000)

"No guard. Damage check. No trigger."

"_This is for Maple... _Macaron! Send that Daidragon to the Drop Zone!"

_"Hahahaha! Leave it to me!"_ (P:14000)

With crazed laughter coming loudly from her mouth, the nun jumped high and planted the pile-drivers in both of her hands into the dragon mech, destroying it into smithereens.

"Turn end." **(H:4 D:3)**

When Aaron ended his turn and it was now Gai's turn, Akiye suddenly started to speak.

"It's finally time. Let's see what Gai-sensei rides for his Grade 3."

"Eh? What do you mean, Akiye-neesan?"

"A-Again with the neesan..."

"What she is trying to say is that the Grade 3 that Gai-sensei rides will determine your brother's fate, Kanade-san."

"Eh? Why is that?"

"Well..."

"With his fists filled with love and justice, the great super robot rises to banish evil! Super Dimensional Combination, DAI-KAI-SER!"

The crowd roared at the appearance of the huge robot which height almost reaching the ceiling of the five-storey high stadium striking a heroic pose. It was the unit they all been waiting for, the specialty of the Gladiator Gai.

"Looks like Gai-sensei managed to ride that unit again. Seems like your brother is going to find it harder to win, Kanade-san."

"Eh? Why did you say that, Juchen-senpai? ...Ah, you don't mean...!?"

"Yep. That's the trump card of the Gladiator. Super Dimensional Robo, Daikaizer. With that in the Vanguard circle, he will be able to use that finishing move of his; the Empire Breaker."

"I move Daitiger to the back and call Dimensional Robo, Daiheart. Then I call Daidragon and Commander Laurel."

_"...Tarte, get ready..."_

_"...Roger..."_

"With a boost from Daimagnum, Daikaizer attacks your Vanguard. With its skill, it gains another 2000 when boosted by a Dimensional Police."(P:18000)

"Tch... No guard."

"Twin drive. First check, second check. No trigger."

_"Dai-Kai-Ser Nova!"_

_"Gah!?_

The huge beam which came out from the colossal robot's diamond on its chest blasted the ground where Tarte stood, raising thick clouds of dust while damaging her at the same time.

_"Tarte!"_

_"...Fine... No need to worry..."_

"Kuh... Damage check, no trigger."

"I activate Commander Laurel's skill. By resting 4 rearguards, I can stand Daikaiser! Then I attack your Vanguard once more!" (P:11000)

"There's no way I'll let you hit again. Guard, Battle Sister, Ginger!" (S:10000)

"First check, second check, critical trigger."

However, the power was 16000 against 20000 even with the trigger's effects, so the attack failed. With a smile, Gai declared turn end. **(H:5 D:3)**

"Stand and draw."

_"...Frustating... Done nothing..."_

_"Don't mind too much about it, Tarte. Just leave it to the others."_

_"...Understood. Taking a break..."  
_

_"Go ahead. You deserve it._

Aaron raised a card using his right hand after telepathically saying those words to his current Vanguard, Tarte.

"Read the heavens, understand the earth and slash thy enemy. Break through the fiery hell of the damned future with thy blade that freezes the present, my Vanguard! I ride Battle Sister, Monaka!"

The tornado of snow which appeared all of a sudden surrounded the tattered body of Tarte, before blown away by a series of cuts from the inside. What appeared from the spiral of coldness was a nun of black hair and red eyes, holding a katana which pure chills of cold wave remain to be released around her.

_"Let's go, Monaka!"_

_"Don't just simply order me around. You're not my Master."_

_"Come on, don't be like that. I have to fulfil a promise with my sister here, so can you give me a hand?"_

_"Fuh... Fine, but only because you have Cookie-neesama in this deck too."_

_"Hehe, thank you Monaka."_ "Rage through the battlefield like a blizzard, using your own shadow to guide thy hidden comrades to the frontline! Battle Sister, Monaka's Persona Break! Blizzard Reinforcement!"

Dropping a Battle Sister, Monaka card into the Drop Zone and flipping one card in the Damage Zone. This was the cost Aaron paid in order to use her Limit Break.

"I look at the top five cards of my deck, choose two of them and add it to my hand, then put the rest on the bottom of my deck. And then... Rage through the limits again, Persona Break!"

Paying the cost again and adding two more cards into his hand, Aaron showed a third Monaka from his hand, to Gai's surprise.

"Rage like a blizzard once again! Persona Break, my Vanguard!"

_"Don't just call me like someone belonging to you as you please, baka!"_

The crowd let out sounds of astonishment as Aaron paid the cost and draw two more cards for the third time.

"Heh~ To think that he can use her Limit Break three times in a row in a single turn. He's not bad, for someone who's using a deck which is not even the 'A' of Aqua Force."

"Onii-chan... Amazing!"

"... This guy... No, I must be imagining it..."

Akiye shook her head as she focused on the match between Gai and Aaron.

"Next, I call Battle, Sister Lemonade and Cream. With Lemonade's skill, I Soulblast two cards and unflip two cards in my Damage Zone. With a boost from Lemonade, Monaka attacks Daikaiser! (P:16000)"

"No guard."

"Twin drive. First check. Get, heal trigger. I give power to Mocha and I heal one damage. Second check. Get, draw trigger. I give power to Macaron and draw one card."

_"Secret Technique: Divine Aura Release!"_

Moving at the speed of lightning, Monaka appeared in front of Daikaiser's face and unleashed a furious torrent of slashes with her blade of ice at a mere second while her blade looked sheathed in its scabbard, the so-called Iaido technique.

"Damage check. No trigger."

"Next, with a boost from Cream, Mocha attacks Daikaiser! (P:22000)"

"No guard. Damage check. No trigger."

"Finally, with a boost from Cream, Macaron attacks Daikaiser! Using her skill, when I have a 'Battle Sister' vanguard, she gains another 3000! (P:23000)

"Guard, Daibattles and Dailander." (S:15000)

With an attack of 23000 against 25000, Macaron only managed to destroy the two vehicle-like units with her pile-driver before being stopped by Daikaiser's fist. The piercing power was not enough to break the fist, thus Macaron was sent back flying to the ground by the power of love and justice.

_"Oi! Don't just punch me back when I'm attacking! I'll curse you!"_

"Turn end." **(H:7 D:3)**

3 damage against 5. Aaron was in the lead with 7 cards in his hand, while Gai has only 3 cards in hand. Both of their fields were full, and it was Gai's turn. Kanade let out a sigh of relief after carefully looking at the current condition. With her brother's hand size, he will be able to protect himself for at least two turns.

"So it's almost time for him to do that, huh? Watch carefully,Kanade-san. Gai-sensei's about to unleash his finishing move on your brother."

"E-Eh?! H-How did Juchen-senpai know that?"

"Well, you can just look at Gai-sensei's face. See that smile of his? Even though he's one more damage from losing, he can still remain smiling in that calm composure of his."

"And also... That's the smile which always appear whenever he's about to use the Empire Breaker. A smile full of confidence in his victory."

"No way... W-Will my brother be alright, Akiye-neesan?"

"Well... We'll just have to see on the next act."

"Eh?"

Kanade cocked her head when she heard the sudden words from Akiye which made no sense to her at all.


	3. The Empire Breaker

"No way... W-Will my brother be alright, Akiye-neesan?"

Kanade looked at Akiye with teary eyes. Facing such pure looking eyes, even the heart of the gangster-like Akiye wavered for a while as she thought of how to reply to the twin-tailed girl.

"Well..."

"Ah, found them! Onii-chan! They're sitting right here!"

A sudden voice from above caused Akiye, Kanade and Juchen to look behind them. A girl in a long pink coat more or less the same as Akiye's and Juchen's except for the cute frills on the end was waving towards the stairs, calling at the person who was still climbing on it.

"Hurry up, Onii-chan! Can't you climb faster than that?"

"Like I said, you're the one who's climbing too fast! I'm not as athletic as you are!"

The man who appeared from the stairs was a teenager with white brown hair in red coat in contrast to the girl who has long black hair. However, both have the same blood red eyes thus giving them the impression of being related.

"Yahoo! Akiye-san! Juchen-san!"

"Good afternoon, the two of you."

The girl then waved at Akiye and Juchen and gave one of those carefree greetings while the boy gave a polite one with a calm smile. As they approached, Juchen who was stunned like Akiye started to shout.

"Cura! And Mael too! What are you guys doing?"

"Well, we've just finished with our date so I thought we should come here to fetch you guys!"

"D-Date..."

"Oi, Cura. No matter what the circumstances may be, you shouldn't date your own sister."

"That's wrong! She told me that she wanted to buy new materials to make some clothes for her business and asked me to accompany her to town. After we finished buying them, she suddenly said that she wanted to go here to watch the entrance exam. That's what happened which lead us to be here. We didn't go on a date!"

"Eh? But we did things like _this_ and things like _that _while shopping. Doesn't that count as a date?"

"It's not a date! And don't just say things that make people misunderstand, okay?!"

"Cura... I lose my respect to you as my senior..."

"That's sounds too pitiful, Cura. To think that you would lay your hands on your own sister just because you can't get a girl that you like."

"I don't want to hear that from someone who has both a fan club and a haters faction like you, Juchen!"

The conversation between the four Class Reps were at a level so high that Kanade could only watch while halfway between feeling awkward and wanting to laugh on hearing their conversation.

"Hmm? This young lady is...?"

"Ah, m-my name is Kanade... Nice to meet you."

"Eh~ I never knew that you have such a cute daughter, Akiye-san."

"Hahaha, that was a very interesting joke, Mael. Want me to rip those cute Bermuda outfits you have hidden behind the closet inside your room?"

"Wait, how did you about that- I mean, if you do that, I'll charge you for the cost- I mean... Uhh... I-I'm sorry! It was just a joke, so please stop glaring at me like that, okay?!"

Even the carefree Mael trembled in fear with teary eyes as she faced the demon lord-level deathly glare of Akiye.

"Wait a minute. You have some sort of hidden closet, Mael-"

"Kyaa! You didn't hear anything, Onii-chan!"

"Ugu?!"

And with that, a scene where Mael punched Cura in the stomach, brought his face to her knee hard and sent him pummeling to the ground with a German Suplex was unveiled to the other three.

"Ahaha... Ah, that's right! Onii-chan's match! Phew, looks like nothing changed..."

"Wow, so it's Gai-sensei who's doing the examination for this round, huh? I always wanted to see one of his matches! He rarely teaches the Bermuda faction, so I never seen him fight with the other students before."

"Don't you think it's unfair for those who want to go to Cardfight Gakuen if he's also in the instructor's group? That guy is too strong."

"Well, in Vanguard luck also comes into play... By the way, how are you still okay after having your sister did all that to you, Cura?"

"Hehe, this is called an "Original's Immunity", my friend Juchen."

"Sorry, forget that I ever ask you. Your head doesn't seems to be functioning properly."

Thus Mael sat on the other side of Akiye while Cura leaned on the railings behind her together with Juchen, all of them watching the match between Gai and Aaron.

"...By the way, who's the one fighting Gai-sensei?"

"Ah, that would be my brother, Mael-senpai."

* * *

A soft smirk came from Gai as he looked at Aaron who had just ended his turn.

"I see that you have some skills too, Aaron-kun. It's been a while since anybody has ever put me in this kind of a pinch feeling."

"Ah, t-thanks for your praise, Gai-san."

That man… I don't like him at all.

"Now then, I think it's time for me to use that... Stand and draw. With your sword that cleaves evil, arise and slash through the enemy. Break ride! Super Dimensional Robo, Daiyusha!"

A mech with wings on the back, shield on the left and sword on the right. That was the appearane of the Super Dimensional Robo, Daiyusha.

"Daiyusha on top of Daikaiser... Don't tell me?!"

"Yep, it's just as you thought. Break ride skill, I pay the cost of one Counterblast and Daiyusha gets 10000 and 1 extra critical plus a new skill. And with Daiyusha's own skill, when his attack power is over 14000 before attacking, he gains one more critical."

"Power 20000 and 3 criticals... No, that's not all of it."

"Daimagnum's skill. I put him into the skill and give 4000 to Daiyusha. Then I call Dailander. With its skills, I Counterblast one card and give 4000 to Daiyusha."

"Total power 34000 with the boost, 3 criticals, and..."

_"You better guard me, or else I'll cut that head of yours with my sword."_

_"You don't have to tell me, Monaka. I'll definitely lose if I don't."_

_"You can use me, Master! Although I don't know if I can do it... But I'll do my best!"_

A card from among the cards Aaron has in his hand gave a weak glow before disappearing, giving words of advice directly to his mind. A smile appeared on Aaron's face upon hearing them.

_"Sorry, but I won't be using you now Chocolat."_

_"Wha- You really want me to cut your head, baka?!"_

"With a boost from Dailander, Daiyusha attacks your Vanguard!" (P:34000)

The mech launched itself from the ground and flew high into the air. After stopping mid-air, it charges towards Monaka.

_"Woi, woi, woi. Hurry up and guard, baka!"_

_"Like I said, you don't have to tell me that, Monaka!"_ "Maple, Tiramisu, Cocoa, Lemonade, Omelet, please help your sister! And you two too, Macaron! Mocha!" (S:35000)

34000 against 46000. Of course, this action stunned the whole stadium as they all gave another shout of astonishment.

"What the... Seven cards to guard!? And everything is only a 5000 shield!?"

"Onii-chan..."

"..."

"Eh? Why did he guard using all those shields, Onii-chan? Can't he just use a perfect guard? Or maybe he doesn't have one?"

"No, judging from what I heard from Juchen, he should have one Chocolat from those three Persona Breaks which he made. Although I wonder how he even knows what cards that the guy drew."

"Hmph. My eyes are well-trained, that's all. But still, seven cards?! He should have exchange two of them for that heal trigger he had in his hand. Furthermore, he's overguarding his Vanguard! What a waste of shields..."

"...No, I don't think he's wasting those shields..."

"Eh? What do you mean, Akiye-neesan?"

Without replying to Kanade's words or reacting to the stares of her other friends, Akiye remained looking at the stage with the two cardfighters.

"Hmm, interesting. Twin drive, first check..." And the top card of Gai's deck was revealed to be a Grade 3. "With Daikaiser's break ride skill, whenever I drive check a Grade 3 Dimension Police, I can retire one card from the Guardian Circle and nullify all effects of a perfect guard. Second check, heal trigger. I give power to Daidragon and heal one damage."

With the efforts of Maple, Cocoa, Lemonade, Omelet, Macaron and Mocha, Daiyusha's power was reduced to a mere 4000 which enable Monaka to escape the assault unscathed. The failure of the sure-hit Empire Breaker caused the whole stadium to be full of cheers.

"Like I thought, he predicted the Grade 3 and the trigger..."

"Oh, so that's why he used all shields in 5000. If he used even one 10000 shield, it can be retired by the effects of the break ride. Gonna take note of that..."

"That will be impossible for Aqua Force, Juchen. They don't have the draw power to pull that off."

"Shut up, Cura. As if Kagero have any draw powers to begin with. I have my Penguin and Lucas to give me cards in one of my Aqua Force decks."

"Bermuda Triangle might be able to do that... But the Prism build I use might not be able to do so."

"...In other words, only decks with huge draw power such as his OTT can do something like this."

"Onii-chan..."

After putting all the cards from the Guardian Circle into the Drop Zone, Aaron let out a sigh of relief.

_"You... Don't tell me you predicted this would happen?"_

_"Of course not. I just had a feeling not to use Chocolat when that Break Ride's skill is in effect. That being said, sorry for not using you Chocolat."_

_"N-No, it's fine... Even if you use me, I still won't be able to protect Sister Monaka. I can't even use my weapon very well... Sob, sob..."_

_"Don't cry now, Chocolat. I'm sure you'll be a great Battle Sister one day. In the first place, your clumsiness is the best defense."_

_"To be praised by Master... I-I'll do my best!"_

_"Hahaha, that's a good girl."_

_"...I changed my mind about you. At first I thought you're just an incompetent idiot who can't cardfight very well. But you're actually this strong, Master..."_

_"Ah, thanks for the praise Monaka. But I think it's still a bit early for you to that... You'll probably be angry at me again after this."_

_"Eh?"_

"With a boost from Daitiger, Daiheart attacks! (P:16000) Then with a boost from Laurel, Daidragon attacks! (P:21000)"

_"Kyaa!"_

As a cute scream sounded inside his mind, Aaron checked the Damage Trigger twice, both showing no triggers as he put them into the Damage Zone.

_"You... WHY DIDN'T YOU PROTECT ME, BAKA?!"_

_"W-Well, that's because it's a waste for me to do that. After using all those cards, I can't afford to guard anymore for no reason."_

_"...I'll..."_

_"Yes?"_

_"I'LL KILL YOU! AFTER THIS IS OVER, I'LL COME AND CUT YOUR HEAD OFF! I"LL SWEAR ON MY PRIDE AS AN EX-ASSASSIN!"_

"Turn end." **(H:4 D:4)**

Not even a bit unaware of what was going on between Aaron and Monaka, Gai ended his turn.

"Stand and draw."

_"HMPH! I'm not going to attack anymore. Good luck on finding another sister to help you fight that man and his giant robot."_

"Okay. Then I'll take up on your words then, Monaka." "With those twin blades of yours that are used to support the leader herself, lend me your strength and lead your fellow sisters! I ride Battle Sister, Parfait!"

Along with Monaka's disappearance in the icy mist, a loud crash resounded from the falling of the blonde hair purple habit wearing sister who came from the sky above. The fall does not seem to affect her, as the sister with the twin huge broadswords took a pose and winked.

_"Hi! Tonight's weather is also full of love ! Let's slaughter the ones who fights without love on us using the love from our hearts and the love from our leader, okay ?"_

_"...As expected from Parfait, you haven't changed a bit."_

_"Ah, good afternoon Master ! I heard you and Monaka started fighting with each other. You shouldn't do something that has no love like that. When facing a lovely girl like her, you should do this with love and do that with love without any hesitation at all. It's love, after all !"_

_"Like always, your words make no sense to me, Parfait. I'll do as you said after this, so please help me win for the sake of my sister, okay?"_

_"If it's for love towards your sister, then okay~ Ah, it's Daiyusha-chan! Hello! Are you still using love for the sake of fighting evil?"_

"Fuh... I activate Parfait's skill. When I have three or less cards in my hand, I can pay two Counterblasts to draw one card. I'll do it one more time, then call two Battle Sister, Cookie! With a boost from Lemonade, Parfait attacks Daiyusha!" (P:16000)

_"Here I go, Daiyusha-chan!"_

The purple sister leaped along with her twin swords as if they weigh nothing at all and launched an attack towards Daiyusha.

"Perfect guard with Daishield! I drop one card from my hand to nullify your Vanguard's attack!"

Then a small mech suddenly appeared and created a wall of light which came from its arms, stopping Parfait mid-air and repelled her back to the ground.

_"Why you blocked me, you naughty little mech-chan ? I wanted to give my love to Daiyusha-chan over there."_

"Twin drive. First check, second check. No trigger. Next, with a boost from Cream, Cookie attacks Daiyusha! Using Cream's skill, when it boosts Cookie, I can Soulblast one to give an extra 5000 to Cookie!" (P:21000)

"No guard. Damage check, no trigger."

"I'll do the same thing with my other Cookie. Attack Daiyusha!" (P:21000)

"I'll guard with Gorescue and intercept using Daiheart" (S:15000)

21000 against 25000. Cookie's attack failed to give Daiyusha the sixth damage.

"Turn end." **(H:4 D:5)**

"Looks like I'm really in a pinch here. If Nee-san sees this, she'll probably scold me for not grasping the image of victory well..."

Fortunately for Gai, his sister is currently living happily overseas in Rome with the one he knows as the Emperor.

"I need to end this... Stand and draw. Alright, with your righteous spirit that is everlasting, burn even brighter and strike down evil! I crossride Ultimate Dimensional Robo, Great Daiyusha!"

Yeah! It's Great Daiyusha-chan ! Let's fight with lots of love today too, okay ?

"I move Daitiger to the front and call Daicrane. Now it's time for Great Daiyusha's Limit Break! When I have three or more Dimensional Robo in my soul, it gets an extra 2000 and a critical! Plus with Daiyusha in the soul, Great Daiyusha gets another 2000! With a boost from Dailander, Great Daiyusha attacks your Vanguard!" (P:21000)

"Like I'll let you do that! Perfect guard with Battle Sister, Chocolat!"

_"Eh, Chocolat-chan? Kyaa?!"_

_"Awawawawa?!"_

The rapid burst from the heavy machine gun in her hands fired uncontrollably as Chocolat started to fire at almost everywhere due to her poor control on using such a big gun. This even stopped Great Daiyusha as the sudden event caused it to miss its attack on Parfait.

"Kuh, so he has a perfect guard in his hand... Twin drive. First check, second check, no trigger."

_"Muh... Why did you do that, Chocolat-chan?! I wanted to get hit by Great Daiyusha-chan's burning love for justice!"_

_"I-I'm sorry, Parfait-sama! But it's Master's order so..."_

_"Muh... Fine, I'll forgive you this time, Chocolat-chan. But don't ever fire your heavy machine gun uncontrollably like that again, okay? That was really dangerous firing just now."_

_"I understand... Sob, that's why I didn't want to use this... But since I already promised Master, I'll do my best!"_

"With a boost from Laurel, Daidragon attacks!" (P:16000)

"I guard with Battle Sister, Chai!" (S:10000)

"Then I'll attack with my Daitiger, boosted by Daicrane!" (P:15000)

"Tarte, I'm counting on you!" (S:5000)

"Ugu... Turn end..." **(H:2 D:5)**

"Stand and draw. I call Psychic Bird and retire Battle Sister, Lemonade. Then I put it into the soul and draw one card. I call another Psychic Bird and do the same thing. After that, I call Battle Sister, Omelet!"

"...So it's over, huh? This boy will have some promising future in the academy."

"With a boost from Omelet, Parfait attacks your Vanguard!" (P:18000)

"No guard. Damage trigger check, no trigger. It's my lose."

The whole stadium roared instantly. The fight between Gai and Aaron was truly amazing and Aaron's victory over the Gladiator was something to be thought impossible as nobody had ever done that before in the entrance exam.

"You're strong, Aaron-kun. It's been a while since I lost to anyone younger than me in a real fight."

"N-No, I'm just lucky that's all. I would've never won against someone like you if it wasn't for that."

"I won't call that luck, Aaron-kun. Your strength is the real deal- Oh, sorry. Someone's calling me. Hello?"

"...Gai..."

The smile on Gai's face suddenly disappeared as his face paled when he heard the voice from his phone.

"N-Neesan? Why are you calling me with that scary voice?"

"Didn't you see my e-mail yesterday? I wrote that Koutei and I will be visiting the Cardfight Gakuen Entrance Exam today."

"Eh? That means... Hii?!"

"I want to have a nice long talk with you after this, Gai..."

"Ah, no, Nee-san, the truth is I was told to hold back against the applicants for the exam so..."

"NO EXCUSES! MEET ME OUTSIDE THE STADIUM RIGHT THIS INSTANT!"

"Hii, y-yes Ma'am!"

And like that, Gai ran off without saying anything else to Aaron.

"Ahaha... Looks like he got scolded..."

_"...I'll cut your head off now."_

"And looks like I have some troubles of my own too, ahahaha..."

Aaron continued to give a wry laugh.

* * *

At the seat where she was sitting, Kanade was smiling with tears on her eyes.

"Onii-chan... You really won, even with that deck..."

"Isn't that great, Kanade-san?"

"Yes! Ah, I got to go and meet Onii-chan now! See you later, Juchen-senpai! Cura-senpai! Mael-senpai! Akiye-neesan!"

Before Kanade could leave however, she was suddenly stopped by Akiye who suddenly raised her voice to her.

"Ah, before you go I have one question for you."

"Eh? What is it, Akiye-neesan?"

"The words you said just now, 'even with that deck'... What do you mean by that?"

"Ah... The truth is, the deck that my brother is using is actually my deck."

"...Eh?"

The words which came from Kanade's lips stunned the four of the Class Reps as they showed signs of disbelief on their faces.

"This morning, I showed that deck which I made last night to my brother. When we started talking about today's exam and I said to him that my deck might not be able to allow me to pass the exam, he disagreed with me and asked to borrow my deck while saying that he'll pass today's exam with it. Although I was against it at first, I eventually lent it to him. Now I'm really happy that my brother can pass with that deck. It makes me feel that I too can pass next year's entrance exam!"

"I see..."

"Ah, Onii-chan's already gone! I have to go now, Akiye-neesan!"

With that, Kanade left to meet up with her brother downstairs.

"...He beat Gai-sensei using a deck that was not his..."

"Coincidence? No, I can't really say that..."

"Hmm... Maybe I should try playing a Battle Sister deck too..."

As Juchen, Cura and Mael gave out their thoughts, a smile appeared on Akiye's face. It was a happy smile, yet the impression it gave was of a wicked one.

"Interesting... Looks like coming here wasn't boring at all. Hehehe, I'll have a new toy to play with this year..."

And Akiye continued to give that cheerful/evil smile while giggling with full of joy/wickedness.


	4. Meeting with Monaka

"Congratulations on passing, Aaron!"

"Congratulations, Onii-chan!"

"Ahahaha... Thank you, thank you..."

On that weekend a few days after the Cardfight Gakuen Entrance Exam, at a house neither big or small, a party was made to congratulate the teenager who was blushing as he laughed for passing the exam.

"I never thought that I would see the day that you enter high school. Sob, if only your father were still here to see this moment..."

"Mum, stop saying words which would make people think that dad is already dead. He's still alive and kicking at Atlanta, you know?"

The reason why his father is working at Atlanta, he never knew.

"Well, enough with talking about your father who's no longer here. Dig in! Your mum pulled out all stops to cook this wonderful dinner you know?"

"The way you're saying that, it's like you're not our mum... Anyway, itadakimasu..."

And thus they started the small party which is joined by only the three family members.

"You're leaving tomorrow right Onii-chan? Did you make sure to pack everything that you need?"

"Well, I packed most of my clothes already. All I need to do left is to pack my laptop and other stuffs and I will be finished."

"I see. Then... W-Would you mind to play one last game with me before you leave? I really wanted to master my deck as quickly as possible..."

"Sure, I don't mind. But only ONE game okay? Yesterday night when you asked to play with me, we continued to play again and again until it lasted until the next morning. You sure don't have control when it comes to playing Vanguard."

Of course, the game that the two were talking about is Cardfight Vanguard, the most famous game in the entire universe.

"B-But I really wanted to master my Battle Sister deck... And for some reason, I kept getting some kind of icy feeling on my back while having thoughts in my head that I should fight you. I wonder why?"

"...Ahahaha, I see. Looks like I really have to approach her tonight, or else she'll trouble Kanade even more..."

"?"

Kanade tilted her head as she had no idea what her brother was muttering about.

"Hah... Seeing the two of you being so close with each other, it makes me feel really happy. If only your father were still here..."

"Like I said, stop saying things that makes people think that Dad is dead, Mum."

And thus the small party resumed without any trouble.

* * *

"Ahaha... I lose again..."

"How many times do I have to say to you, Kanade? You should try to make the difference of damage between you and your opponent at 2 at the most. Guarding too early is also a bad move, and not keeping perfect guards during the end game is just asking for it."

"I know, but it's really hard to keep my hand when you're always attacking my rear-guards, Onii-chan."

"That's also called a strategy, Kanade. Since Oracle Think Tank decks focus on draw power, one has to focus on destroying the rearguards to reduce their attacking power. Also, knowing when to attack the vanguard or the rear-guard is also important."

"Mmm... Like I thought, it's really hard..."

The brother and sister pair was currently inside Aaron's room, playing Vanguard while Kanade is being tutored by her brother on how to master her deck.

"Even if the deck is well-made, if the user herself is poorly skilled then the deck won't be able to unleash its full potential. For example..."

"I see... You really know a lot about Vanguard, Onii-chan."

"Not quite, Kanade. There are still things about Vanguard that we don't know yet, so I can't really call myself someone who knows a lot about it. I am a good player, however."

"...Okay, let's play one more round Onii-chan!"

"You know, that's the fifteenth time I heard those words already. Don't you think it's time for you to go to bed already? You even promised that we would only have one game."

Aaron pointed at the clock using his chin. Both hands were already at the 12th marker of the clock.

"Yes, I know that. But... This is the last day that I would be able to play with Onii-chan like this. Most of my friends don't play Vanguard, so I rarely have the chance to play with others. Furthermore... I'll feel really lonely after Onii-chan leaves for Cardfight Gakuen, so I want to spend as much time with Onii-chan as possible."

"Kanade... Yes, I understand. Then we'll play for one more round, okay? After that, we'll both go to bed."

"Okay, Onii-chan."

With the promise made, the two put all their cards back to their decks and started shuffling them.

"Ah, can you ask you for something Onii-chan?"

"What is it, Kanade?"

Kanade started blushing as she paused for a while, fidgeting around while trying to find the courage to put her request into words.

"That... Can we sleep together tonight?"

* * *

"This girl... Since when did she become this brave?"

The room was dark with only the light from the outside illuminating the whole place. Aaron was still awake as he looked at the sleeping figure inside the futon on the floor. It was Kanade, who was sleeping soundly in her pajamas decorated with flowers.

"Well, at least that made her realizes how to use her deck properly... Probably..."

He was against the idea of course. A boy and a girl should never sleep in the same room even if they were brother and sister. However, Kanade insisted on sleeping with him that eventually the final verdict will be decided through a Cardfight. That was the first time Aaron sees Kanade thinking seriously about winning, and thus she was able to access the true power of her Battle Sister deck and won against her brother.

"...Now then, I guess it's time for me to go "there" now."

Pulling the sheet over himself, Aaron closed his eyes and started to concentrate his consciousness inside his mind. From another's point of view, it would look as if he was asleep but Aaron was actually doing something far more than that.

"At least her deck is here... Thankfully, she didn't bring it back to her room when she went to change and brought the futon with her, or else I would have to ask her to borrow her deck again tonight. Explaining why to her would be quite a worthless effort..."

While thinking that, Aaron went to "sleep".

* * *

"This is... a church? I see, this would certainly be the living place for nuns."

The next moment he opened his eyes, Aaron found himself in a different place than his room. In front of him was an old-looking church with bits of destruction here and there as if the place had been attacked several times before. Then he started looking around his surroundings. There were only old buildings everywhere with the sky all blue as it was daytime.

"Fuh... As usual, the air in the United Sanctuary is the best compared to the other nations. Dragon Empire is too hot, Dark Zone is always gloomy and dark, I can't even enter Magallanica because it makes me wet, Zoo is too humid and Star Gate is too artificial."

While thinking about the other nations that he had visited at least once, Aaron made his way towards the entrance of the church. Pushing inwards, the door opened and he made his way inside the church.

"Hello, anyone home- !"

Before he could even finish his greeting, several knives planted itself on the door behind the spot where his head was a second ago. If he did not immediately ducked, he would have been skewered by the throwing knives.

"Ara, if it isn't Master? What brings you today to our humble church?"

The source of the knives was immediately known by Aaron as he looked to his front. Chinky eyes with a hint of purple hair under her wimple, she was looking at him with surprise in her face.

"That was really dangerous, Cocoa. I might be just a spirit, but I can still feel any pain that I receive here."

"Ah, sorry. I thought it was Mocha who is entering, so I accidentally "slipped" while I was holding my knives."

"...You know, you can't call it an accident when you're clearly aiming for the head."

Aaron let out a sigh as Cocoa continued to giggle.

"So why are you here Master? You're not here to ask for some 'special service' from us nuns right?"

"Do you guys even do those things in the first place? ...Anyway, I'm looking for Monaka. Have you seen her?"

"Monaka-neesama? Ah... That's right, you made her angry a few days ago right? Something about not protecting her when she asked you to."

"Yeah, that's right. Although I already explained my reasons to her... "

"She's complaining about it like almost every day, you know? It's really bothering us other sisters while doing our own duties here. You should go and apologize to her quickly."

"That's the reason I came here today. Can you please help me call her?"

"Hmm... That might be a bit hard... Wait for a moment, okay?"

Cocoa then made her way to the inner parts of the church, who was instantly replaced by three small nuns as they suddenly appeared from one of the doors inside the church.

"Ah, Master!"

"Good afternoon, Master."

"I-It's nice to see you, Master."

Waffle, Chocolat and Lemonade immediately went from the door to somewhere near Aaron in a blink of an eye. As expected from the ones called the Battle Sisters, he thought while giving a smile to the three.

"Ah, I'll be bothering you guys for only a moment."

"N-No, you're not bothering us at all with your presence Master..."

"Are you here to talk with Monaka-neesama?"

"Hey, Waffle. You shouldn't ask something like that the moment you meet someone. So are you here to talk to her?"

"Well... Kind of. I don't know if it's going to be just us talking or if it's going to be one of those 'escape from being murdered' scenes."

Waffle and Lemonade tilted their heads in puzzlement. Only Chocolat understood his words as she puffed up her chest.

"I-It's alright... If that were to happen, I'll protect you Master. S-So please don't worry..."

"I appreciate the thought, Chocolat. But this is something I have to face alone, so thanks anyway. Besides, if you were to join in it too, I doubt I will leave unhurt..."

This time, Chocolat too tilted her head along with the other two chibi nuns.

"Ah, Master? Would you mind coming with me? I'll bring you to see Monaka-neesama right now."

Cocoa, whose head was peeking out from the door she just went through, said to Aaron with an expression that showed her professionalism on assassination.

"Okay, see you three later."

"Bye, Master!"

"Let's play together next time okay?"

"I-If Monaka-oneesama suddenly attacks you, just call for me to protect you, okay?"

As Aaron walked towards Cocoa, the three small nuns gave their partings as they returned back to their own duties. Going through the door, he was met with a large opening inside the middle of the church.

"Wow, I never thought that this place would be this large. It looks like a small church when I was looking at it from the front."

"Hehe, I too had the same thought when I first joined the Battle Sisters. Come, let's move on."

With that, Aaron and Cocoa started to walk while being lead by the purple-haired nun. As they moved inside the church, Aaron tried to remember the route that he had taken which eventually was forgotten due to the complexity of the movement they did as they went up, right, down and left at stairs or corners.

"...This place is really big. I'm already lost as to where I am exactly."

"Hehe, we hear that everytime someone new comes to the church."

"Ah, Cocoa. And also... Master? Good afternoon."

"Ah, good afternoon Fromage-san. Sorry for coming without any notice."

"I don't mind. You're not someone who can notify us if you were coming anyway. So, are you here to meet Monaka at last, Master?"

"As expected from the leader of the Battle Sisters. You already knew the reason for me being here."

"It's not that hard to guess. After all, she's been complaining about you whenever any of us are with her. It's like watching a girl showing her dissatisfaction to her lover."

"Ahahaha..."

"So you're going to meet her... I think it would be dangerous to leave her alone with you, so I'll be coming along too."

"Ah, no, I don't want to trouble you..."

"What are you talking about? Solving problems between two people is also considered a job. With that said, I'll take care of it from here on now, Cocoa. You can return to your duties now."

"By your word, Fromage-sama. Well then, see you later Master. Try not to get your head stabbed by any flying knives okay?"

"I think you're the only one who throws flying knives, Cocoa..."

With a wave, Cocoa disappeared into the confusing maze-like route Aaron had just went through with her.

"Well then, shall we go Master?"

With the person leading him changed, Aaron slowly made his way to meet with Monaka without any clue as to what his fate would be.

"...Is this where Monaka is?"

"Yes. Sisters who are not in duty are ordered to stay in their rooms until either meal time or duty time. They may do anything they want during that period as long as they remain inside the room."

"I see... So Battle Sisters have strict rules too."

"Of course. Now then, let's go in shall we?"

"Hmm? But if what you said is correct, then this should be Monaka's room right? ...Is it alright for me to enter her room just like that?"

"Of course, you have my permission as the leader."

With that, Fromage and the half-reluctant Aaron entered the room which belonged to Monaka. The moment he entered, a blast of chill immediately stabbed through his skin. The room was very cold and ice was even seen forming on the surfaces of the simple furniture inside. Although the chill was enough to make Aaron started to shiver, Fromage showed no signs of being affected while she walked even deeper into the room towards the only bed inside the room. The one who Aaron wanted to meet was there, sleeping soundly with only a thin blanket over her body.

"How the hell can she sleep in this cold room?"

"She's been trained to withstand cold after all. And she's still training herself on it in order to wield her sword even better. Hey, wake up Monaka."

Being shaken on her figure by Fromage herself, Monaka stirred from her sleep as she opened her eyes slowly and got up from bed.

"...Hmm? Fromage-sama...?"

"You have a guest, Monaka. It's someone you've been dying to meet these days."

"A guest? Who is it?"

Still in a sleepy state, Monaka rubbed her eyes before it met with Aaron's eyes. In that instant, her eyes immediately opened wide due to the shock.

"Y-Yo... I've come to visit."

"...Ky..."

"Ky?"

"KYAAAA!"

A scream so high in pitch that even the ice cracked ringed inside the room, causing Aaron to be startled. It did not end there as the following events caused him to be even more bewildered than before.

"W-W-W-Why are you here, Master?!"

"Why I am here... Look, I still haven't resolved things with you yet so I thought I should visit and-"

"No! Get away, get away! Don't come near me, Master! Hanekirihabaki, where's my Hanekirihabaki?"

"Oops. I won't let you have your sword that easily, Monaka!"

"Give it back! Give it back to me, Fromage-sama! Otherwise... Kyaa! Don't look at me, Master!"

"...What's going on here? Is this girl really Monaka? That Monaka who can make even crying babies fall silent?"

"The truth is..."

After some time of explanation...

"I see. Fear of men, huh?"

"Monaka's past is that traumatic which made her developed that kind of fear. Normally when she wields the Hanekirihabaki or have it at least touching her, that fear of hers is frozen and she becomes that Monaka whose skills of assassination is among the top. However, when her sword is taken away... This is the result."

"Uhh... D-Don't look at me..."

"Dual personality, huh? Although I prefer this side of her rather than the one which tried to kill me."

"With that said, I'll be leaving her alone with you so please try to make up okay? Ah, and don't try to do anything funny to her while I'm outside okay? Even if it's you Master, I won't tolerate any kind of touching okay?"

With those words and that fake smile, Fromage left the room along with Monaka's sword; the instant it left the room Aaron felt that it was getting warmer.

"Now then..."

Aaron walked towards the bed slowly as to not startle Monaka who was shivering on the farthest corner of her bed while being covered by the blanket. After sitting down on the bed, he let out a sigh as he looked at Monaka.

"I'm sorry, Monaka. Even though I'm basically the one at fault I think, I still had to use something like this in order for you to not just ignore words and kill me in the spot. Well, I have absolulety no clue about your fear and Fromage's the one who arranged all this, so... Anyway, can we please have a talk? I don't want things to stay like this between the two of us."

After a moment of silence, Monaka nodded as she turned to face Aaron although her distance between him and her did not decrease even a single millimeter.

"...Do you hate me, Monaka?"

"Eh? Ah, n-no, it's not like that I hate you Master. I-It's just that... I'm afraid..."

"I see... So you don't really hate me. That's good to hear..."

"..."

"What do you think of me, Monaka?"

"Eh? Ah, err, I-I think that you're an amazing person, Master. A-Although you're kind of an airhead and idiotic-looking, I still feel that way."

"I see... Idiotic and airhead, huh? That might really describe who I am."

"..."

"Do you want to kill me, Monaka?"

"Eh? Ah, err... No, I don't really want to kill you Master... It's just that... I felt like you betrayed me when you promised to guard me then suddenly broke it."

"I see, that's my bad. But I did explain it to you right?"

"...Yes, you did."

A moment of silence passed again inside the room as the two of them both remained seated in their place.

"Can you forgive me, Monaka? I really hope that you will, since I don't like to have regrets in my heart. Not after losing them..."

A dark cloud spreaded over Aaron's face as he felt depressed over a past memory. It only lasted for a moment as he shook his head off of the thought.

"...I've already forgiven you, Master. It's my ego which is at fault after all. Asking you to do things which only benefit me and not caring about your own plan at all. Instead... Can you please forgive me for threatening you like that? I know that you fought using us for your sister, but I still..."

Aaron was surprised at Monaka, her face blushing red after pausing on her words. It was really unexpected of him to hear her speak her mind like that. Happy that she shared some of her feelings to him, Aaron slowly approached Monaka on the bed and sat just right in front of her. Gently, he placed a hand on Monaka's head which caused her to tense her body for an instant before it disappeared.

"There's no use for you to ask for forgiveness, Monaka. I never hated you in the beginning. Sure, you are cold-hearted and cruel and don't really listen to what I say. However, I know that you're kind as well as forgiving inside. Well, I found out about it not too long ago.

"Master..."

"After this, I'll be leaving for Cardfight Gakuen in order to become a better Cardfighter. During that time, my sister would be all lonely without anyone to depend on as she travels down the road of a cardfighter. That's why I want you to give her support for one year until she too enters Cardfight Gakuen. Can you do that for me?"

"But... Someone like me can't possibly..."

"What are you talking about? Of course you can do it. After all, you're the reason she made a Battle Sister deck in the first place. Also, your power allowed me to withstand the powerful Dimensional Robo deck of Gai. Without you, I would have lost there."

"...Really? You're not lying just to make me feel better?"

"Of course! I swear in my pride as a cardfighter. So believe in yourself, okay?"

"...Alright. I'll support your sister until the day she enters Cardfight Gakuen."

The smile on his face widened when Aaron heard the words from Monaka. He then started patting the top of her head, giving a rub also here and there.

"Thank you, Monaka. I'm counting on you to look after her."

"Um, just leave it to me... Ah... this feels so warm... I've never felt... something like this before..."

Tears fell from her eyes as Monaka felt the comfort from Aaron's gentle patting.


	5. Vanguard Island

Waves hitting the beach over and over, the trees in the forest sway along with the wind, and the light from the sun was neither too hot or too weak as they reach that island. Located several hundred kilometers away from the mainland, its name is:

Vanguard Island.

"Fuah... So this is Vanguard Island. It's even bigger than the castle in United Sanctuary."

After disembarking from the ship at the only port on the island, Aaron started to look around from left to right of his entire view. With this he confirmed some of the information he obtained about the island, that it was once an abandoned island and has it natural state preserved as much as possible while Cardfight Gakuen was made.

"But this feels something similar to that one island with the volcano... Well, I better not think much about it. Now then... Shall I go?"

With that, Aaron started to walk the long path towards the main building of Cardfight Gakuen located just on the foot of the mountain in the middle of the island. The path was only a straight route without any winding, so he did not feel tired at all until he reached one point where the path goes up. Although it was not because he climbed the path up that was tiring, it was because he did something while going up the route.

"Hah... hah... hah..."

"Aha, thanks for the help, boy. It would have taken me all day just to push the van up if I was alone."

"No... I'm glad that I could help."

Here is the story: As he was climbing the path up to the main building, he encountered an old man with some sort of military background (that was what he thought) pushing up a van from the back. After asking and getting the answer he needed (the van broke down while it was climbing up, so he had to push it up), Aaron offered to help the man push the van (although he was turned down so many times at first).

"What is inside this van anyway? It's too big to be carrying something like cleaning tools."

"Hehe, want to see?"

When the old man opened the trunk of the van, Aaron finally got the answer as to the cargo of the van.

"These are... Vanguard booster boxes?"

"Yep, we just got the latest shipment from the main island. These are the new booster boxes that will be released for sale in about a month from now."

"Wow, so this island gets to have the new cards earlier than other places. That's something to take note of..."

"Even though we got it early, we still can't sell it before the real date it comes out. Otherwise, some sort of penalty will be given to us for doing so."

"I see... Well, that makes sense since it's unfair if the students here powered up their decks first with these new cards..."

"Ahaha, I guess that's true. With that said, here. You can have this."

The old man took one of the boxes inside and held it to Aaron. He was stunned by this of course.

"Eh? Ah, no, you don't have to..."

"You don't have to feel guilty about it. This is an old man's thanks for helping him out."

"Yeah, but you just said earlier about not selling these cards in a month..."

"Don't mind about it. I'm not selling it to you but giving it to you, so the rules don't really count."

"I see...But still..."

"Just shut up and take it, boy."

"Y-Yes!"

The sudden change in the old man's attitude caused Aaron to immediately take the box in front of him. What a scary pressure... He must be some sort of military general before retiring, is what ran through his mind.

"Well then, I'll be going to the card shop now. Feel free to visit once in a while, okay?"

"Yes. I'll do so."

After watching the old man pushed his van to another part of the main building, Aaron turned around to look at the place where he will be studying for 3 years.

"...Okay, let's go!"

"Well, that was less dramatic than I thought."

The entrance ceremony was held in the biggest hall of the main building, known as the Fight Arena where many school events are held. There Aaron met a lot of people from all over the world who had passed the entrance exam either through skill or luck itself. After a while, the principal of the academy with his name unknown and wanted to be referred to as Sol Kage gave a speech before everyone was given an envelope in which their dorms are stated.

"Hey, BC-san. Where did you get you placed?"

"Check it out yo! The BC is in the Sapphire Class! I'm going groove it up there with my army and be the top dog in the house yo!"

"Although your rapping is still bad as ever... I see, you're in the Sapphire Class... Sadly, I'm in a different class, so we will be against each other, BC-san."

"No worries, yo! The sky is blue and the earth is brown, both one even if different."

"In other words, we're still friends even if we're in different classes right?"

"That's right, Scrappy my man!"

As he passed through a conversation like that, Aaron searched around to look for a quiet place to rest. When he finally sat on one of the benches available, he opened the envelope and pulled out its contents.

"Hmm... 1st year Amber Class. Amber is... yellow, I think? Did they place me there because I used Kanade's deck in the exam? Well, who cares about that? Let's read the rest..."

With that, Aaron started to read the rules regarding the Class dorm he will be staying in at Cardfight Gakuen. After reading through the long list on the e-pad provided, he finally managed to summarize everything. In short:

*There's a curfew at 10 in the evening.

*He must wear the dorm's color shirt provided while in the island all the time except during extracurricular activities.

*He may have as many decks as he wants, but during ranking exams he must use a deck which represents his Class' color. There are also special events in which he may use decks which does not represent his Class' color.

*First years live in the first floor, second years in the second floor, and so. Girls and boys are separated, and both are not allowed to enter the dorm of the opposite gender.

*Nobody is allowed to enter the Forbidden Forest located near the main building.

*Classes are from 9 to 5 with a lunch break at 1. Ditching class is unacceptable.

*Any conduct which can be considered as a crime will be severely punish and the accused will be deported from the island immediately.

"Hmm... So in short, other than breaking these rules I may do whatever I want. My class is Amber, so that means the only decks I can use for exams are Oracle Think Tank, Genesis, Angel Feather, Gold Paladin, Shadow Paladin and..."

His lips stopped before he managed to let out the words in his mind. His expression clouded as he remembered his past, a past so painful that it became something like a trauma to him. However, Aaron soon discarded the thought as he shooked his head hard.

"Well, I think I should head for the dorm now-"

"Give it back! Give me back my deck!"

The loud and sudden shout stunned Aaron when he had just stood up from the bench. Looking around, he spotted a group of three wearing a purple shirt facing a small person wearing a cap on his head with height only 2/3 of the guy in front of him. The person in the middle of the group who seemed to be the leader was holding a deck in his hand which the small figure was trying to get back.

"Hmm? Why should I return it to you? You're the one who gave it to me when I asked you to."

"You're wrong! I only lent it to you because you wanted to see my deck. I never said anything about giving it to you!"

"Hahaha! The moment you handed a deck to another person, that deck will rightfully belong to that person. That's the rule of this island, kid."

"You're lying! There's no such rule written in the guidelines!"

"So what, are you going to report to the teachers about us stealing your deck? Do you have prove that this deck even belongs to you, kid?"

"Ugu... Give it back!"

The kid with the cap launched towards the guy who was holding the stolen deck. However, the guy dodged and laughed at the kid.

"Hahaha! You want it back? Here, try to catch it!"

"Ah..."

The leader of the group tossed the deck to one of his friends. The kid then charged and tried his best to get his deck back, but the guy just raised the deck out of the kid's reach and tossed it to another friend. Soon it became a game where the kid tried to get the deck back while the three tossed it to one another, laughing at the futile attempts the kid was making. Eventually, he fell down on the grass after failing again to reach for his deck, resulting in the three 2nd year Amethyst students to laugh even harder.

"Ahaha! Ready to give up, boy? If you do, we'll take very good care of your deck."

"! Like... I'll let you..."

The kid pushed himself back up, even though the pain both inside and outside was making tears coming out from his eyes. To him, losing his deck is something worse than the pain he is feeling now.

"Oh? Still want to play? Then let's continue, shall we?!"

The kid resumed to try and get back his deck from the leader. While smiling in an evil way, he threw the deck to one of his friends waiting on one of the ends of the triangle shape they made surrounding the kid. However, a sudden figure suddenly moved between him and his friend, grabbing the deck in mid-air and stopped a few meters away from them.

"Ah, my deck!"

The kid ran towards the new person who suddenly appeared. He was smiling at the kid whose height was half of his own and handed out the deck towards him.

"Here. Make sure not to lose it again, okay?"

"Ah. T-Thank you!"

The kid with tears on his eyes cried again with a smile this time as he was reunited with the deck he made with all his love.

"...Oi, who are you? How dare you just show up and disturb our fun?"

The leader glared at Aaron, who just shrugged at the group.

"You said it yourself, right? The moment you handed a person a deck, that deck will belong to that person. When I grabbed the deck just now,it became mine. And then I returned it to this person over here, so now it belongs to him. You don't have any problems right, since its the rules that you made yourself."

The three let out a grunt while continuing to glare at Aaron.

"...Heh, well fine. It's not like that weak deck will be of much use to me anyway."

"Weak? Did you just call that deck weak?"

"Of course! A deck made by that weak-looking kid over there will be absolutely weak! It will never beat my deck with I built with the strongest cards available!"

"I see... Then should I prove you wrong?"

"Huh?"

Aaron turned to the kid who was taking cover behind him.

"Can I borrow your deck for a while? Don't worry, I'll properly return it to you later."

"Eh? Ah, u-umm..."

With that, the kid gave Aaron the deck he just received from him a while ago.

"Oi,what are you playing at?"

"Nothing. Why don't we go play over there? I'm going to show you just how strong this deck is."

"Huh? Are you an idiot? You're going to play using that weak-looking kid's deck against the great me? Fine, then I'll show you just how strong I am!"

* * *

"N-No way... My Final Turn failed...?"

Even after unleashing five deadly attacks using a Break Ride and his rear-guards ability, the leader of the three failed to give Aaron the sixth damage which will give him his lose.

"That Spike Brothers of yours is certainly strong... But it will never be able to beat me. Stand and draw." Looks like it's going to be your turn now. Are you ready?

_"If it's for the sake of my Master, then I'm always ready."_

"Break ride! Leader of the Guardian Angels! Solidify Celestial, Zerachiel! Plus Limit Break! Shining Feather!"

And with that, the leader of the three got his sixth damage and lost.

"So? Do you still think that this deck is weak?"

"D-Damn you... I'll remember this!"

The three ran away at the speed of Team Rocket.

"Fuh..." _Thanks, Zerachiel._

_"I'm the one who should be thanking you. For you to teach a lesson to those evil beings who bullied my master in her place, I can only show my utmost gratitude to thee."_

_"Don't mind it, Zerachiel. ...Hmm, wait? Did you just say... her?"_

"E-Eto... T-Thanks for getting my deck back..."

"Hmm? Ah, no problem. It's all in a day's work. Here's your deck back."

"Ah, thanks..."

The kid with the cap took his deck back from Aaron. The cap was kind of bulgy to be worn by a person like him.

"Er, can I ask you a question?"

"Eh? Ah, sure... W-What is it?"

"Are you... a girl?"

"E-Eh?! Ah, er..."

The kid started panicking as to what to answer. In the end, the kid took off the cap he was wearing and let the hair hidden inside the cap to flow down to the back. The kid was in fact a girl with long blue hair and a cute face.

"H-How did you know...?"

"Hmm? Ah, s-some bluebird whispered to my ears about your identity, that's all."

"Eh? Mmm... It's only a feeling. Is that what you want to say?"

"Ah, yes. You can say that too."

_"I may have blue wings, but you can't just call me a bluebird."_

While ignoring the words inside his head from Zerachiel, Aaron remained his smile to the girl who was looking at him with admiration.

"You're really amazing... To think that you beat those senpais using a deck which you haven't used before. Ah, or is it because you have an Angel Feather deck too?"

"Ah, no... I once played Angel Feather before, so you can say that I played from using experience."

"Amazing... If only I can be amazing as you..."

"Don't worry. I'm sure you'll be amazing too one day. You just have to believe in that deck of yours and yourself."

"R-Really?"

"Yes. I can tell that that deck of yours is very well-built and has all your soul poured into it. It's a pretty neat deck like its owner."

_"Stop praising me like that... It makes me feel like I'm going to 'fall'..."_

The girl started blushing, then suddenly a bright smile appeared on her face.

"Thanks! I'm going to do my best! By the way, are you in Amber Class too?"

"Hmm? Ah yes."

"That's great! I'm also in Amber Class! Looks like we'll be teammates, Onii-san!"

"O-Onii-san...? No, I'm also a first year like you, so you don't have to call me like that..."

"Eh? Ah, you're right... Then at least tell me your name so I know what to call you."

"That's fine. My name is Aaron. What's yours?"

Before introducing herself, the blue-haired girl straightened her posture and let out a cough.

"My name is... Sendou Airin. It's pronounced as Ai from my papa's first letter of his name and Rin from my mama's last letter in her name. Let's be friends from now on, Aaron-niichan."

"I don't know who's your parents are, but it's Airin in short right? Let's be friends too, Airin. And calling me Aaron is just fine. Adding niichan on the back will make me feel like some sort of siscon."

"I don't quite understand, but okay!"

Aaron and the girl Airin kept smiling at each other, unaware of the approaching person behind them.

"The two of you over there. It's almost time for the first year meeting in the dorms. If you don't hurry, you'll get punished for being late."

White long hair, blood red eyes, and long purple coat. When Aaron saw this person with these characteristics, he felt that he was facing a demon lord or some sort. Airin however was not intimidated by the new arrival as another wide smile appeared on her face.

"Ah! Akiye-neechan! Good afternoon!"

"Good afternoon, Airin. Did you get lost again? You're really a girl with little sense of direction."

"Don't say mean things about me, Akiye-neechan! I at least know where the toilet is when we were little."

"Ahaha... Sorry, sorry..."

The smile of a fairy which appeared on Akiye's face totally crushed the first impression Aaron had about her.

"Hmm? You're... Kanade's brother, right?"

"Eh? You're a friend of my sister?"

"Well, you can say that... Anyway, it's almost time for the Amber Class dorm meeting. Let's go before the two of you get punished."

"Ah, you're right. Then let's..."

As the three of them started walking with Akiye leading them to the Amber Class dorm, one thought came across Aaron's mind.

''_Wait... How did she know that I'm in Amber class?"_

A smile which cannot be classified as it was either happy or evil appeared on Akiye's pure white face.


	6. Night Party at Amber Class Dorm

"Hi everyone. Welcome to the most beautiful dorm out of all the six dorms in Cardfight Gakuen. My name is Hiromi and I'll be your dorm supervisor for your entire stay here in Amber Class dorm."

There were many thoughts that ran inside the minds of the first-years, but mainly they can be divided into three:

1) Is this person a he or a she?

2) A drag queen? Gross...

3) Wow, he's sparkling!

Incidentally, the first one were by the boys, the second by the girls and the third was Airin with stars in her eyes.

"Now, I know you all are dying to know what makes me so beautiful... But if I were to start, it would have taken the whole night just to explain how sinful I am for having such beauty. That's why I'll only be giving these words to you all. Dig in!"

With those words, the new semester opening party as well as the welcoming party for the first-years of the Amber Class dorm began with a shower of party poppers. As Hiromi went into a creepy pose and said "Oh, how beautiful~", everyone focused their eyes on the huge long table in the middle of the dining hall, where rows of food with vast varieties are arranged in large servings enough for the students to enjoy various types of meal around the meal.

"Wow... Look, Aaron-san! They have shark meat too!"

"You're right... This really feels like one of those high-class parties, don't you think so?"

On one side of the long table was Aaron and Airin, taking small amounts of almost everything onto their plates. Since they were already in the dorm, Aaron had changed from casual clothes into the dorm's shirt. Airin had also changed from the boy's clothing she was wearing that afternoon and was now wearing a girl's version of the dorm's uniform; a yellow shirt with dark blue mini-skirt short enough to show her fair skin between the skirt and her long black socks.

"By the way, I see you're no longer wearing that huge cap of yours, Airin. Was that suppose to hide your identity as a girl or something?"

"Well... You could say that, Aaron-san. Mum told me to wear it at all times while I'm in front of others at this academy and pretend that I'm a boy. It's for my protection as a cute girl like mewill most likely attract unwanted attention by other people especially boys, is what she told me. Although I don't quite understand why she would say that."

"Well, I can't argue with you there..."

Even as he was standing there, Aaron could feel the glowing red stares of jealousy from the boys around him. He could even hear chants of curses coming from some of them. If he had not managed to stop Airin from continuing to call him 'Aaron-niichan', who knows what kind of problems would arise.

"Ahahaha... _Looks like I failed in making a good first impression already_. But if your mother told you to do that, then why did you stop wearing it, Airin?"

A smile full of innocence appeared on Airin's face in reply.

"That's because Aaron-san is with me! If you're here, then I no longer have to worry about anyone else troubling me. I believe that you'll protect me like that time, right?"

"...Ahahaha... Err, Airin? I'm happy that you said those words to me. I really do. But... Please don't try something like that again when we're in places where there are other people, okay?"

"I don't quite understand what you want to say Aaron-san, but okay!"

Airin continued to smile happily, unaware of the heavy atmosphere created around Aaron and her by the surrounding boys.

"T-That guy... Don't act all lovey-dovey with that girl in front of us!"

"It's not fair... He's the same year as us, yet he has an imouto-like character with him already on his first day here. I'm frustated!"

"Calm down! I'm sure we can do the same as him. Our looks are not much different, and he's also a student of Cardfight Gakuen like us. I'm sure the God of Vanguard will grant us such opportunities with the girls here too!"

"...Ahahaha..."

"?"

Aaron continued to laugh in an awkward way while listening to the whispers of the ones around them. Airin tilted her head in confusion upon seeing him laughing like this.

* * *

"Hello again, you all. Has everyone enjoyed the food served by our magnificient five-star chefs? I hope you do, because not doing so is clearly something not beautiful."

Around two hours laters, when everyone was lost in their own personal worlds (some kept staring at Aaron who was with the angel-like Airin with jealousy though) after eating their fill, the dorm supervisor Hiromi reappeared on the upmost front of the dining hall.

"Now then, I'm sure everyone will be wanting to return to their rooms now. But before we do that, I would like you all to listen to a heartwarming speech by our very own Class Rep. Aki-tan, if you would please do the honors."

"If you call me Aki-tan again, I'll spread the pictures without you having make-up on to the entire school body."

"Ooh, I'm scared~ But that's why I like you, Aki-tan~ "

"Stop calling me Aki-tan!"

After the little clash of words, the white blonde-haired girl took the position where Hiromi had stood before he retreated back a little.

"Hmm? It's that girl I saw earlier..."

"That's Akiye-neesan, Aaron-san. She's a childhood friend of mine, and she's also one of the Class Reps of this academy which means she's one of the strongest Vanguard player here!"

"I see... No wonder her aura is a bit different from the other seniors here. So that's one of the strongest players here, huh?"

A smile appeared on Aaron's face while his fists shivered with excitement. Challenging strong people like Gai and try to overcome them, that was one of the most funs he enjoyed while playing Vanguard.

"Everyone. Welcome to the Amber Class dorm of Cardfight Gakuen. My name is Akiye and I am one of the Class Reps for Amber Class. Unfortunately, the other one is on one of his trips around the

world under orders from our principal so I will be the only one available for any enquiries of yours from us Class Reps. You may call me by my name or Class Rep if you want to. Anyone who dares to call me otherwise... Well, let's just say that even cats with their nine lives won't be safe. Hehehe..."

The second and third-years shivered, the first-years remain bewildered as to how to react to the creepy smile from the demon-like girl. Naturally, Airin was oblivious to Akiye's dominating pressure on everyone.

"Well, to continue... As you have read from the e-pad also known as the V-Device given upon your arrival here, you all have the obligation to follow and protect the rules of this school as well as maintaining your discipline while being members of the Amber Class. If any of you tries to be a daredevil and break any of the rules... Hehehe... Well, just ask your seniors later what I did to them. That is, if they dare to tell you of course."

Even though she was doing it in a happy way, everyone could see the "hidden" truth behind the fairy-like smile of Akiye. 'You will be better off dead'; that was what most of the people in the dining hall perceived when they faced the smile of the one also known as the Russian Dark Fairy Princess among the Class Reps.

"Lastly, I have two important things left to say. The first one is about the Vice Class Rep Selection Tournament which will be held tomorrow after your first-years' orientation. As told by our principal Sol Kage earlier today, Cardfight Gakuen employed a mentoring system where second-year students are randomly paired with first-year students to mentor for one year. The Class Reps on the other hand are excluded from this system, but they also have something similar to it. Upon being a Class Rep, they have to choose one among the first-years to act as their trainee, or Vice Class Rep. Since I and the other guy have just become Class Reps this year, we don't have any Vice Class Reps yet so I will be choosing one for each of us after the tournament tomorrow."

The dining hall started buzzing with whispers of excitement while Akiye had paused to let out a cough.

"The second one is about the Great Class Dorm War. This is an annual event where the six dorms compete against each other in order to determine which is the strongest in the academy. Teams of three will compete with each other and the last one standing will win the right to represent this school for this year's World Circuit plus have one wish granted by our generous principal. ...Last year, our dorm only managed to get second place due to a mistake of mine... However, with new faces come new possibilities... I'm sure that with you all here, we can get first place this year."

A true smile of expectation which came from the heart. Everyone was in awe seeing the demon lord-like figure in front of them suddenly turning to a beautiful fairy with just a change of attitude.

"Of course, although anyone can participate in the Class War, their team would have to be recognized by our dorm supervisor first before they can participate."

"As a tip, I only accept those whose style in cardfighting is marvelous while elegant as well as beautiful at the same time. Those who acts like insects should just die and give up."

"The teams with the Class Reps and Vice Class Reps in them automatically get permission to enter this event, so if any of you wish to join I suggest you all aim for the position of Vice Class Rep. It's the easiest compared to passing this hentai's standard."

"That's mean, Aki-tan! It's true that my beauty is more perfect than yours and that it's a sin, but you don't have to call me a hentai. Call me Beautiful instead!"

"The Vice Class Rep Selection Tournament is mandatory, and every first-year is obliged to join. The top four will then be tested before two of them is chosen as Vice Class Reps. I will be looking forward to who will be loved by me after tomorrow. Hehehe..."

Nobody knew whether Akiye's last words were real or just a joke as the evil smile on her face indicated that she was serious.

"Details of the selection tomorrow will be sent to your V-Device later tonight, so please read them before going to sleep. Now then, you are all dismissed."

* * *

"-And that's the story. What do you think of it?"

The weather was nice as the rays from the sun were gently warm and the soft breeze flowing through the grass around the huge garden was as fresh as ever. The nun with long black hair flowing out of her wimple took a sip of tea from the cup in her hand before glaring at Aaron.

"So you came all the way here just to tell me that? Are you an idiot? W-Well, it's not like I hate you coming here because of that..."

"Ara, ara. Monaka-chan's blushing. How cute ~"

"S-Shut up, Parfait-san!"

The black-haired nun, Monaka snapped at the blonde purple wearing nun, Parfait who continued to giggle while in the middle of maintaining her Mu-Ra-Ma-Sa.

"A selection to become a trainee to the strongest player, huh? The human world does weird things sometimes, don't you agree?"

"Well, I cannot disagree with you, Fromage-sama."

Parfait, Monaka, Cookie and Fromage. The four Battle Sisters with strength unparalled to the others were now sitting in a round table together with Aaron, enjoying tea while having snacks which ironically has the same name as them.

"So are you here to ask us for help, Master? We're more than willing to help you if you decided to use us for the selection."

"No, that's not what I'm here for, Fromage. I have something to discuss with you all, that's all."

"Ara, ara. Is it something about love ? You found someone you like at that academy? You're going to make Monaka-chan cry, you know?"

"D-Don't joke like that, Parfait-san! I-I'm not going to cry just because he wants to talk about his first love or something like that... Sob..."

"Shouldn't you be doing that with Monaka alone then? You guys' relationship should be good enough to do that after all that petting and comforting you did to her in her own room..."

"Kyaa! Please don't remind me of that, Fromage-sama! I want to forget everything about what happened that time with this idiot over here! It's too embarrassing, you know! I feel like I want to kill myself after showing him that!"

Monaka was holding her head with both hands as she shouted those words. Cookie laughed as she looked at her.

"Isn't that nice? To be comforted by Master like that..."

"Kyaa! Not you too, Cookie-neesama?!"

"Now, now... Let's calm down, okay?"

"Shut up! I'm going to kill you and then throw that head of yours into the lake just around here!"

Monaka instantly grabbed the beloved sword of hers from the waist, but before she could pull it out the other three nuns stopped her through verbal means.

"You can't do that, Monaka-chan."

"If you do, I'll cut your salary off by 100% for the next three years."

"I won't accept any more challenges from you if you kill Master."

"Ugu..."

With Parfait, Fromage and Cookie pressuring her together, Monaka slowly moved her hand from her sword as she was forced to give up. Crossing her arms together, she let out a "Hmph!" before looking away from Aaron.

"Ahaha... Anyway, can we go back to my request?"

"Of course, Master. If I remember correctly, it's a discussion about love right?"

"You're wrong! I never said that it's a discussion about that!"

"Eh~? I wanted to hear about your first love at the academy, Master..."

"I haven't got the chance to find someone I like there yet, Parfait. Anyway, let's be serious here, okay Fromage?"

"Okay, okay. So what do you want to discuss about, Master?"

Aaron scratched his head as he tried to find the words suitable enough for the four nuns.

"Well, for the selection tomorrow I was planning to ask help from "them"..."

"Them? You don't mean..."

"Yes. Although my relationship with the guys there isn't really good since I've been attracting the attention of the girls in their place... It's really troubling, you know? One of them even attacked me just because I caught the girl he liked when she slipped on the stairs."

"Well, female warriors are rare in that place so seeing you steal the gazes of all the girls there isn't really something their heart can allow, right?"

"I guess so. I too have to admit that the girls there were really cute and also beautiful... Ah, i-it's not like I'm saying that the girls here aren't pretty enough to go out with! You all are also very good looking in your own way."

"It's okay, Master. We Battle Sisters can't really have those special relationships due to our job... However, if it's you and Monaka, I can give you special permission."

"P-Please don't joke around, Fromage-sama!"

"Oh, but I'm being serious here Monaka. Seeing the two of you together reminds me of my younger days when I dated Blaster Blade's master. I don't mind at all if the two of you started dating."

"T-That's sort of troubling me, Fromage. Monaka is a very pretty girl with a kind heart hidden by her cool personality. It would be a waste if she started dating someone useless like me."

"! I-I'm not happy that you praised me at all, baka!"

Monaka once again turned her head away from Aaron, her cheeks blushed red like an apple.

"Ahaha... Anyway, what do you think Fromage? Should I go and ask for their help?"

"It's not like I can change your mind, right Master? If you want to, you should just do it without leaving any regrets. However, you're scared that the male warriors there might attack without letting you speak first, which brings you here to ask for someone to protect you."

"As expected from Fromage. You really can read other people's mind, right?"

"No, it's just mere guessing, that's all. Well then... Parfait, Cookie and Monaka, would you three help our Master?"

"Of course ~ It's not everytime I can go and spread love to those people. I can play with that new boss of theirs too!"

"Sure, why not? It's not like I have anything else to do."

"...Fine, but only because Cookie-neesama is going to. I-It's not like I'm doing it for you, baka!"

Aaron could only smile in happiness towards the four of them.

"Thanks, everyone. But is it really okay for you to send them all, Fromage? I think Monaka alone is enough..."

"!"

"Ara, ara..."

"To be favoured by Master... How nice."

"Ahaha, I think so too. Her strength alone is enough to protect you from any danger while in that place. That is, if you're going there."

"Hmm? What do you mean, Fromage?"

A confident smile appeared on Fromage's smile when Aaron asked her that question.

"Apparently, there's a special unit separated from their main army which current base of operations is near here. Rather than going all the way to that dark castle, why don't you just ask them for help? Although the place between here and there is dangerous, I'm sure that the three of them can you protect you well. Ah, and you don't have to worry about being decline either. The leader of that unit is a certain blue-haired maiden of darkness that you know very well."


	7. A New Rival

"Fuah... So sleepy..."

"What's wrong Aaron-san? You look so tired since this morning... Didn't you get enough sleep last night?"

"Yeah... I had to walk through the mountains of Dragon Empire while avoiding the fiery pranks of Dragonic Waterfalls and Cruel Dragons... Then I had to ran all the way to my destination while being chased by Monaka after I accidentally slipped and landed on top of Cookie who tried to stop me from falling..."

"That's quite an amazing dream you had there, Aaron-san. I wished I can dream something like that once in a while..."

Lunch break after orientation in one of the auditoriums of Cardfight Gakuen. Knowing that there are no other classes for the first-years after noon, Aaron resigned himself into sleeping through the whole orientation which caused him to get smacked on the head by the teacher-in-charge Yuri halfway through.

"Airin-chan~ Want to get something to eat?"

"Ah, okay! I'll be right there! Do you want to come with us Aaron-san?"

"Sorry, but I want to get some more sleep so I'll pass."

"I see. Okay then, have a nice nap Aaron-san."

Airin left Aaron and head towards the group of girls who were waiting for her near the entrance.

"Now then... Let's go back to sleep..."

_"You don't look so well, Master."_

_"Hmm? Zerachiel? Aren't you suppose to be with Airin?"_

_"Well... She left her deck inside her bag which she left it here, so I can't really go and follow her..."_

_"Wow, that's careless of her. Didn't she learn already not to leave her deck unattended?"_

_Hehe... Well, that's how she is, Master. Anyway, do you want to visit our hospital? For lack of sleep, I can give you a special lap pillow treatment for a very small price._

_"Thanks for the offer, but I'll have to pass. I'm sure that with Airin's deck I can go to your place directly without having to go through a detour like last night... However, my limit is only once in a day and I'm planning to use it again tonight. So..."_

_"I see. Well, if you have time please do come and visit us. Even us Celestials wanted to be comforted by someone else sometimes."_

_"...You were peeking when I was with Monaka inside her room last time, weren't you?"_

_"Hehe, who knows? Okay then, have a nice rest Master."_

Sensing that Zerachiel has disappeared, Aaron let out a sigh and went back to focus on sleeping. Before he could even take a step into the dream world, a voice from somewhere to his right suddenly called up to him.

"Hey, got a minute?"

"Hmm?"

When Aaron looked up, he saw a guy in grey shirt looking at him with glaring eyes for some reason.

"Err... May I help you?"

"Yes. I want to know what's your relationship with Airin."

"Airin? ...Before I answer that, could you tell me who you are?"

"Wha- Y-You don't know who I am!? Tch, that's why I hate talking to other people... They should know who I am just by looking at me. Well, fine then. Let me introduce myself to you. I'm only going to say it once, so listen carefully."

Straightening himself, the guy started to do some weird poses while introducing himself.

"I am the guy who went through countless challenges and managed to fight equally even with that freaking principal of ours. The god of hybrid decks and also the master of Etranger! I am Delta of the Fluorite Dorm! Remember that!"

"... Ah, that's right. You're one of those currently known as the top 8 Cardfighters in the world, right?"

"What's with that long pause of yours...? Anyway, that's who I am."

"If I remember correctly, you use only hybrid decks and rarely use decks with only one clan, right? I remember how much those from Aqua Force and Kagero complained about you when I was watching the TV during the World Circuit last year."

"What are you talking about?"

"Nothing. Just saying things to myself. Anyway, I'm Aaron."

"I know. You're the one who managed to beat Gai-sensei due to beginner's luck right?"

"Yeah, you could say that. _Although I rarely got any triggers while Gai-sensei check triggers most of the time..._So why do you want to know about my relationship with Airin?"

"Don't ask me questions and just answer the one I gave you just now."

"Well... We're just friends, I guess? I only met her yesterday after all."

"Friends? Heh, don't make me laugh. If you're just friends with her, then she wouldn't be that close to you to the point that she even sat next to you during class!"

"Well... Why do you care whether she sits next to me or not? It has nothing to do with you."

"It has everything to do with me! Because that girl... That girl... She's the one that I've been looking for since the day my eyes looked upon that beautiful face. She's the one that is fated to be with me!"

Even though the guy named Delta was saying it seriously, Aaron could not help it but to not take him seriously.

"Oh, really..."

"It's the truth! I was going to confess to her here when I found out that she's also going to this academy, yet before I could do so I suddenly find her being so close to you! If it weren't for your meddling existence, I would have gotten her as my girlfriend already!"

"_Isn't that taking a bit too far? I mean, there's a chance she might not accept your confession you know.._. In other words, you find me to be a hindrance right?"

"That's right! That's why I'm challenging you to a showdown, lover stealer!"

"My name is Aaron, for your information... You want to duel with me over Airin? Not a chance, Delta-san. I mean, she's not something that could be use as a prize you know."

"Don't worry. I never intended for us to do something that boring. Your dorm is having the Vice Class Rep Selection Tournament right? Fortunately, my dorm is also doing the same. That's why we'll do a showdown over who becomes a Vice Class Rep. If I become one, you will forget about Airin and never speak to her again. If you become one, then I'll forget about this showdown and we'll fight over who gets to go out with her."

"Fine, although I know all those conditions only favors you instead of me. Fuah... so can you leave me alone now? I still want to go to sleep..."

"You... Be serious here, damnit! This is something that will decide how we will go on our lives here you know!"

"Papa~ Where are you?"

"Delta! You promised to treat us for lunch remember? Don't you dare try to escape!"

"Damn, it's those two again... I need to get out of here before they find me... Remember what I've just said, okay?! If you are not a Vice Class Rep the next time I see you, then you'll get out of Airin's life forever! Understood!?"

With those parting words, Delta ran to a different exit than the one he heard the voices coming from earlier.

"Ah, there he is! Don't let him get away, Kat!"

"Roger that, Shiori! Hey, don't run away Delta!"

On a side note, two girls where one was wearing a green shirt+white skirt combo and the other wearing a purple shirt+blue skirt combo ran pass the spot where Aaron was sitting and chased after Delta.

"...Oh well, time to go back to sleep."

* * *

"Wow, you're really strong Aaron-san! To think you could beat all those guys and become one of the Top 4 for the tournament, I'm really happy!"

"Hehe... Aren't you the same as well, Airin? Your skills on using that Celestial build is really top class! It's like I'm seeing the shadow of the Asia Circuit winner a few years ago standing behind you."

"Really? Although I don't quite understand, but I'm happy that you praised me Aaron-san!"

After being woken up by Airin from his sleep, she and Aaron headed back to their dorm where the Vice Class Rep Selection Tournament was being held. Once there, both of them took numbers out of a small box which will separate the first-years into four blocks. The winners of those blocks will become the Top 4 of the tournament and will receive the right to take the test from the Class Reps in order to become Vice Class Reps. Naturally, Aaron went up the rankings with ease and secured his spot as the winner of A-Block while Airin managed to show everyone that she was not all cute as she bursted through everything like a certain blue-haired devil and climbed up the corpses of the ones who lost before the might of her deck with the smile of a certain blonde-haired demon and became D-Block's winner.

"Hey! Don't say cruel things about my Papa and Mama! They're not a devil and a demon!"

"Who are you talking to, Airin?"

"Eh? Mmm, I also don't quite understand it, but I had a feeling that I need to say those words all of a sudden."

While Airin remained in her thoughts, two figures appeared before Aaron and Airin as well as the other winners of their own block. Akiye remained as fearsome as ever while Hiromi remained as sparkling as ever.

"Before we start, I would like to congratulate you all for getting this far."

"All of you were so beautiful out there ! I wouldn't mind taking you all on a date with me!"

Whether or not Hiromi was only joking, the four would never know.

"Now then, for this test both the dorm supervisor and I would become the examinators for it. Since that guy is not here, the dorm supervisor will be replacing him in order to select one of you for his Vice Class Rep."

"Do it seriously, okay? Otherwise, I might just kick you out of the dorm for being inelegant and not beautiful."

"Is everyone ready? Then I'll start with Aaron first. Hiromi-san, you'll start with Airin."

"Okay~ Now come with me, ojou-chan ... Don't worry, the testing wouldn't be that hard to pass... if you're a member of Foo Fighter like me."

"Good luck, Aaron-san."

With that, both Hiromi and Airin disappeared into one of the doors which Aaron had no idea where it would lead them to.

"...We'll be going too now."

"Ah right."

With Akiye leading, she and Aaron entered into a different door than the ones taken by Hiromi and Airin. After a short walk through the dark corridor, he found himself in a room with a huge space as there was nothing inside other than the lights around it. Without pausing at all, Akiye went to the middle of the room where she turned to face Aaron.

"Hold out your V-Device."

"Ah, okay."

Aaron took out the e-pad in his pocket and followed exactly like what Akiye told him to do without knowing anything over what he was doing. A moment later, Akiye did the same as she too held out her own black coloured V-Device near Aaron's in an opposite parallel manner.

[Link Complete. Code confirmed. Card Fight System, Activating.]

"Woah?!"

To his surprise, the e-pad in his hand suddenly glowed and two parts separated from it at two different directions, landing neatly near the corners of the room. The V-Device which belonged to Akiye also did the same at the corners behind her. After that, both of the V-Devices merged in the middle and dropped itself on the floor.

"Err... Senpai, what just happened exactly?"

"You don't know? This is Cardfight Gakuen's latest technology, the Portable Virtual Reality Card Fight System which allows students to access virtual reality technology at any part of this island using the V-Devices provided. Of course, one of them must be in a position of authority like us Class Reps."

"I-I see. Wow, this is some useful thing to have."

"Now then, let's begin the test shall we? Please move back around twenty steps."

"Ah, r-right!"

After doing what he was told to, a projection from the device in the middle and the ones at his left and right side suddenly created some sort of thin piece of pale blue board in front of him. When he tried touching it, he was shocked to find that he can actually touched the thing and even put his hand on it. It was as if there was an invisible stand under the board which supported his hand's weight.

"By the way, Senpai... What exactly is the test that you will be giving me?"

"Hmm? Isn't it obvious? We're using the PVR System using our V-Devices that is only to be used for the students here to play Vanguard without the need to find a table."

"Eh? Then that means..."

"Yes. You'll be fighting me, my dear junior."

The smile filled with happiness/wickedness floated on Akiye's face while she looked at Aaron.

"Now take out your deck and let's get started. I still have to deal with one more first-year after this, so let's make this fast."

"R-Right! _To think that the test would be cardfighting with the Class Rep herself... Well, I guess they would want to know the level of the ones they would be selecting a trainee from. And this is a good opportunity to see just how strong a Class Rep is._"

After doing all the necessary operations, Akiye and Aaron faced each other with one hand having five cards while the other hand is placed on the card inside the circle. With their gazes changed for an instant, the game started with their shouts.

""STAND UP, (MY) (THE) VANGUARD!""

Not only did the circles of light appeared on both of their sides, the whole room were covered in light as the VR System started projecting the scenery of a huge field within the walls of a dark castle. Aaron had no time to be in awe of all this as all of his mind was concentrated in the cardfight he would be having against Akiye.

"Frontline Revenger, Claudas."

"Fullbau."

A dog in black with blue shades appeared beside Aaron while a person in black armor stood beside Akiye.

"Shadow Paladin, huh? I should have known, given that she wears black even though she's in Amber Dorm..."

"He's using Shadow Paladin too, huh? Interesting... Show me how strong you are using that deck, my sweet kouhai..."

"I'll start first. Draw. I ride Blaster Javelin. With Blaster Javelin's skill, his attack power will be at 8000 if Fullbau is in the soul. Then using Fullbau's skill, I take a Blaster Dark from my deck and add it to my hand. Next, I call Witch of Nostrum, Arianrhod. I rest her then drop one card from my hand to draw one card from my deck. Turn end. (**H:5 D:0**)

"Draw. Ride the Vanguard! Revenger, Dark Bond Trumpeter! Claudas moves to the back and then I call Transient Revenger, Masquerade. I attack Blaster Javelin with Masquerade! With his skill, he gains another 3000." (P:10000)

"Damage check, no trigger."

"With a boost from Claudas, Dark Bond Trumpeter attacks your Vanguard. (P:11000) Drive check, no trigger."

After Aaron checked the damage trigger again which resulted in no trigger triggering, Akiye ended her turn with a cold voice. (**H:5 D:0**)

"Alright... Time for a comeback. Stand and draw. Destroy everything, avatar of darkness! I ride Blaster Dark!"

Clouds of darkness suddenly appeared and surrounded Javelin which was then cut apart by a dark sword belonging to the dark knight who appeared in place of Javelin.

"I call Skull Witch, Nemain. I activate her Counterblast and drop one card. Then I draw two cards from my deck. Next, I call Black Sage Charon! Let's go, Blaster Dark!

_"Understood. Proceed to attacking."_

"With a boost from Charon, Blaster Dark attacks Dark Bond Trumpeter! (P:18000) Drive check, critical trigger! I give power to Nemainand the extra critical to Blaster Dark."

_"Ugu?!"_

Like a shadow, Blaster Dark appeared and slashed at Dark Bond Trumpeter with added power, resulting in her receiving more damage.

_"Ah, is she alright?"_

_"There's no need to worry about her. She's a member of the Revengers even if she looked like that. She won't fall from that level of attack."_

_"I see... But try not to hurt your own allies too much. I know that this is a cardfight, but please refrain from using too much force, okay?"_

_"...Understood."_

"Damage check, first check, second check, no trigger."

"Next, with a boost fromArianrhod, Nemain attacks Masquerade!" (P:16000)

With the crystal skull in hand, Nemain sent bolts of lightning which crashed at the spot where the guy in suit was standing, frying him alive and sending him to the Drop Zone.

"Turn end." (**H:6 D:2**)

"Stand and draw. ...Heh, like I thought. You are a bit different from the other guys who went to the entrance exam. However, I'm not going to lose to you. I have my pride as a Class Rep you know."

After giving Aaron another one of those smiles of joy/death, Akiye raised one card in her right hand.

"Arise, knight of darkness. Slash through the shadows,even if it's your own. Ride the Vanguard! Blaster Dark Revenger!"

A whirlpool of fire surrounded the whole of Akiye and Dark Bond Trumpeter, its blazing flare was so intense that Aaron moved his arms over his eyes as his protective instincts kicked in. Out of nowhere, a black sword cut through the inferno and swept it all away, revealing a knight of darkness with red cape and dark purple armor.

"Now then... Let's continue to have fun, Aaron-kun..."


	8. Aaron VS Akiye

The sky was filled with clouds of darkness, blocking the light from the sun onto the interior of the dark castle's walls. Blue lightning occasionally ripped through the gloomy atmosphere, closely followed by the roaring of thunder.

"Blaster Dark Revenger..."

_"The other me..."_

Aaron and Blaster Dark kept their eyes on the new knight of darkness. Black armor tinted with dark purple and red mantle flowing over his back; the Blaster Dark of the Revengers gave an intimidating pressure with its sword stabbed in the ground held under both of his hands.

It's been a while since I've seen that form... So I'll be fighting the 'me' who once served Phantom Blaster, this should be interesting...

"I call another Blaster Dark Revenger and Barrier Troop Revenger, Dorint behind him. With Blaster Dark's skill, I can retire one of your front row rear-guards for a Counterblast of two. Have a nice rest, Nemain."

Even though the words were a polite one, the sadistic smile on Akiye's face told otherwise as the other Blaster Dark Revenger made his move. Stabbing his sword to the ground, a surge of dark energy was sent towards the unknowing witch through the ground, blasting her into particles of light upon hitting.

"Then with Dorint's skill, I unflip one damage. ...Here I come, Aaron-kun. With a boost from Claudas, Blaster Dark Revenger attacks your Blaster Dark!" (P:14000)

_"Here I come, past me!"_

_"I'll take you on, other me!"_

The two Blaster Darks charged towards each other with their black weapons raised. With strong determination and will of iron, the black knights roared.

"I guard with Grim Reaper!" (S:10000)

_"Out of the way!"_

Blaster Dark Revenger ripped through Grim Reaper like he was made of paper. However, the slight distraction was able to give some time for Blaster Dark as well as lowering the power of Blaster Dark Revenger. With that the two knights clashed their swords, blowing everything around them through the huge shockwave created.

"Guh... What ridiculous strength. So this is what happens when two Blaster Darks clashed."

"Drive check, no trigger. With a boost from Dorint, the other Blaster Dark Revenger attacks Blaster Dark!" (P:16000)

_"Other me, SWITCH!"_

Without warning, the rear-guard Blaster Dark Revenger became one with the shadows and sped towards the clashing Blaster Darks. While a smirk appeared on the Vanguard Blaster Dark Revenger's face, he broke the lock between the swords and swung his sword hard enough to create a slight opening. He jumped back a moment later, his position instantly replaced by the other Blaster Dark Revenger who immediately bashed Blaster Dark flying.

_"ARGH!?"_

_"Blaster Dark! Are you alright?"_

_"I'm fine... More importantly, the help you gave me just now was unnecessary you know?"_

_"Ahaha, sorry about that. But it's important to minimize damage as well, you know?"_

_"...Fine, but the next time you interfere me again I'll stab you with this sword of mine, understood?"_

_"Hai, hai..."_ "Damage check, no trigger."

"Turn end." (**H:4 D:2**)

"Stand and draw. Looks like it's going to be your turn now. With wings corrupted with darkness and despair, descend from the heavens and spread terror to the entire land. I ride Illusionary Revenger, Mordred Phantom!"

An elf of darkness with long white hair riding on a black pegasus all equipped in armor. That was the form of Mordred Phantom, one of the new aces of Shadow Paladin.

"I call Cursed Lancer and Darkness Maiden, Macha. With Macha's skill, I superior call Black Sage, Charon behind her."

_"So you finally called me, huh? Didn't I tell you to use me the moment you have me in your hand? I was there since turn 1, and yet you ignored me!"_

_"Sorry... But I thought about saving you until the moment is right. So please forgive me for ignoring you okay?"_

_"! W-Well, if you say so, Master. But please tell me so next time okay? I don't like being left out."_

_"Hehe... Okay."_

Aaron thought that Macha was cute for blushing redly like that while acting tough at the same time.

"Looks like your preparations are complete, Aaron-kun."

"Yes, and I'm going to begin my counterattack. Get ready, Senpai! With a boost from Charon, Mordred Phantom! Attack her Vanguard! Using his skill, he gains another 2000! (P:21000) Twin drive, first check, second check, heal trigger! I give power to Cursed Lancer and heal one damage."

The black pegasus knight rose to the air and struck down at lightning speed towards Blaster Dark Revenger, dealing damage to the black knight.

"Damage check, no trigger."

"With a boost from Arianrhod, Cursed Lancer attacks your Vanguard!"

"Damage check, heal trigger. I give power to my Vanguard and heal one damage."

"Cursed Lancer's skill, I unflip one damage. _She gave the power to her Vanguard. If that's the case then..._ Macha! Attack the rear-guard Blaster Dark Revenger!"

_"Roger! Take this, Darkness Slash!"_

The blue-haired maiden knight slashed with her blueish sword, sending its target to the Drop Zone without even a tiny shed of blood.

"Turn end." (**H:4 D:2**)

"Stand and draw. Now then, it's time I ride my own Grade 3. Receive despair, and crawl away in fear before his might. I ride Illusionary Revenger, Mordred Phantom! Claudas' Counterblast, I put him into the soul and then... Stand before me again, Blaster Dark Revenger! Using his skill, I retire Cursed Lancer and using Dorint's skill I unflip one damage. Mordred Phantom attacks your Vanguard!" (P:13000)

"_Logically I should guard, but_... No guard!"

"Twin drive, first check, critical trigger. I give power to Blaster Dark Revenger and critical to Mordred. Second check, heal trigger. I give power again to Blaster Dark Revenger and heal one damage."

"Damage check, first check, second check, no trigger."

"With a boost from Dorint, Blaster Dark Revenger attacks your Vanguard!" (P:26000)

"No guard. Damage check, no trigger."

"Turn end." (**H:6 D:2**)

"Stand and draw. Okay... Senpai! I'll be going for the finishing blow now!"

"Hmm? My damage is two and yours is five, and you're going to give me the finishing blow? That's some confidence you have there, Aaron-kun..."

"Then I'll show you... The power of the King of Knights' own shadow. Good and evil exists in everyone like two sides of a coin. Where there is light, there is darkness. Where there is hope, there is despair. Unleash thy sealed sword, and lead thou army! Break Ride, My Vanguard! The Dark Dictator, Alfred Alter!"

From the black skies above, lightning made of shadows struck Mordred who raised his sword upwards. The black lightning then disappeared, revealing not Mordred, but a knight cladded in armor made of shadows. His appearance was the exact duplicate of the King of Knights himself.

"Wha- A-Alfred Alter!? I never heard of such a card before!"

"Hehe... Well, of course you haven't. This is a card which hasn't been released for sale yet. _Thank you, shop ojii-san! _Now then... Break Ride skill. I pay one Counterblast and superior call Blaster Dark Spirit from my deck! Using his skill, I retire Blaster Dark Revenger. And also he gets power plus 5000."

"Blaster Dark Spirit... Another card that I don't know about..."

"That's not all that I have Senpai. I still have Alfred Alter's skill to use. When I ride him on the Vanguard Circle, I can Soulblast 3 to add 5000 to my front row rear-guards. This is his skill, Dictatorship Charging!"

"I see... So that's why you were so confident just now... With this, you might be able to deal me the finishing blow..."

Even though she was facing such a formation, Akiye remained smiling.

"Here I go, Senpai! Alfred Alter's skill, he gets 2000 for every Shadow Paladin rear-guards I have! Go, Alfred Alter!" (P:30000)

Charging towards the pegasus knight, the king's shadow roared with the sword raised towards the heavens.

"Twin drive! First check, second check. Get, double critical trigger! I give the two criticals to Alfred Alter, while all the power goes to Macha."

_"CHESSSSTO!"_

Striking Mordred with the sword that can smithe even god himself, Alfred Alter sent three cards to Akiye's Damage Zone, all without triggers.

"With a boost from Arianrhod, Blaster Blade Spirit attacks Mordred!" (P:27000)

"I guard with Grim Revenger and Healing Revenger." (S:20000)

"Kuh... Macha! I'm counting on you!"

_"Leave it to me!"_ (P:31000)

With her hands on her beloved sword, Macha charged towards Mordred with all intention to deliver the finishing blow.

_"Secret Technique: ZanZenKen!"_

_"AHAHAHAHA!"_

_"! What the?!"_

_"Out of nowhere, a full armored soldier with shields on both sides suddenly appeared in front of Macha, blocking her sword from reaching towards Mordred."_

_"Mac Lir, you...!?"_

_"It's no use, Macha. Your tiny sword won't be able to penetrate my shields!"_

"I perfect guard with Dark Revenger, Mac Lir."

"Kuh... Turn end. (**H:6 D:5**) Heh, as expected from a Class Rep. She's on a totally different level."

_"...I'm sorry, Master. I... I..."_

_"Woi, woi, don't cry now Macha. What will I do if the leader of the special unit suddenly started crying? I'll be killed by your subordinates, you know?"_

_"But... I failed to deliver the final blow..."_

_"Don't mind about it. Anyway, get a grip. It's our turn to defend now, so I need you to focus okay?"_

_"Sob... Understood..."_

"Stand and draw... Heh, like I thought, you're an interesting one, Aaron-kun. To drive me to a corner with just one card... It's been a while since I had this much fun."

"R-Really? I only played Vanguard like usual, and I was lucky to get two criticals just now."

"No, that wasn't luck. That is your skill and just how deep your bond is with your deck. Like just now... You even comforted Macha who cried after failing to hit my Vanguard."

"...Eh? Senpai, what did you say just now?"

"Now then, it's my turn to give you the finishing blow. Prepare yourself Aaron-kun, cause this will really hurt."

The thunders roared again as Akiye raised one card in her right hand.

"Tremble in the might of the dark dragon, whose rage goes beyond the limits of even his own flesh! Break Ride, The Vanguard! Revenger, Raging Form Dragon!"

Along with a thunderous roar, the dragon appeared with its menacing appearance intimidating everyone.

"Break Ride Skill. Come, Dark Cloak Revenger, Tartu! Using her skill, I superior call Revenger, Dark Bond Trumpeter! Then with her skill, I superior call Freezing Revenger at rest! Next, I call Blaster Dark Revenger! Using Dorint's skill, I unflip one damage."

"Kuh... Now she has a full field..."

_"Hmm? Isn't that... Ah, Macha-oneesama!"_

_"? Who are you?"_

_"Eh!? Y-You don't know me? No way... Macha-oneesama... doesn't know me... Sob, sob..."_

_"O-Oi, why are you starting to cry? Get a grip! You're a Shadow Paladin too, right?!"_

_"B-But... Macha-oneesama... Doesn't know me..."_

"Let's do this some other time, Tartu. I still need you to help me in this cardfight. By the way, how would Macha know you if she hasn't even come home to the castle after all this time?"

_"...Ah, you're right! Ehehe, sorry for making you worry, Master. Ah, then this would be a perfect time to show Macha-oneesama how good I am. Alright, I'm getting pumped up!"_

_"W-What's with this girl? Isn't she a bit... weird?"_

_"Fuee! Macha-oneesama called me weird!"_

"Stop crying. Otherwise, I'll show Macha all of your embarrassing photos while you're training to be a Revenger."

_"No! Don't show it to her!"_

While this was all going on, Aaron remained silent as he was dumbfounded over what was happening.

"...Senpai, you..."

"Let's resume, shall we? With a boost from Dorint, Blaster Dark Revenger attacks your Vanguard!" (P:16000)

"Ah... I-I guard with Grim Reaper!" (S:10000)

16000 versus 20000. Blaster Dark Revenger's attack was easily blocked by Alfred Alter.

"To continue, Raging Form Dragon attacks your Vanguard! (P:21000)

"Guard! Abyss Healer! Death Feather Eagle!" (S:20000)

"Twin drive. First check, second check, no trigger... But I got a copy of Raging Form instead. Which means... Limit Break activated! I retire Blaster Dark Revenger, Dorint and Freezing Revenger to use Raging Form's skill. Your enourmous rage continues through your soul even if your flesh changes, Superior Persona Ride The Vanguard! Raging Form Dragon! And he gets 10000."

"Kuh, she stood that dragon back!"

_"Master! Don't mind on using us! We'll block Raging Form Dragon-sama's attack with all we got!"_

_"! I understand!"_

"Raging Form Dragon attacks your Vanguard again!" (P:21000)

"Like I'll let you do that! Guard! Grim Reaper! And then... Macha! Blaster Dark Spirit! Intercept!" (S:20000)

"Looks like you still have that much shield left, but... Twin drive, first check, critical trigger. All effects to Tartu. Second check, no trigger."

_"No, Macha-oneesama!"_

Tartu yelled, but it was too late for her to stop Macha from using herself to guard Raging Form's attack.

_"What a noisy girl... To think that someone like this is in the dark castle... Looks like I have to go back to teach this one how to become a true Shadow Paladin..."_

With those parting words, Macha was retired to the Drop Zone.

"Now then, to finish this... With a boost from Trumpeter, Tartu attacks your Vanguard."

_"Sob... Macha-oneesama... Don't worry, I'll avenge you! I'll fight for your sake too!"_

Tartu charged with her sword filled with the feelings to avenge Macha for some reason.

_"Hyaa!"_

_"You shall not pass!"_

"I perfect guard with Dark Shield, Mac Lir!"

The sudden appearance of the shield-wielding soldier surprised Tartu so much that she had no time to brake herself and thus slammed right into Mac Lir.

_"Ouch! Awawawa..."_

With eyes spinning due to the impact, Tartu was confused for a while before fainting. Seeing this, Dark Bond Trumpeter sighed as she pulled the unconscious Tartu back to their position.

"Turn end." (**H:4 D:5**)

Aaron somehow managed to defend the continuous attacks successfully, at the cost of all the cards in his hand and the front row.

"Haha... Looks like I'm in trouble now... But this is fun..."

"You're not giving up, are you?"

"Nope. I can still turn this around. I'll never give up until the last damage. That's what makes me who I am."

"I see..."

"Stand and draw. I call Blaster Dark. Here I go... Alfred Alter, attack Raging Form Dragon!" (P:18000)

"I guard with Grim Revenger and Freezing Revenger" (S:15000)

"Twin drive. First check, second check, no trigger... With a boost from Charon, Blaster Dark attacks Raging Form!" (P:17000)

"I guard with Dark Bond Trumpeter and intercept with Tartu." (S:10000)

"...Heh, turn end." (**H:2 D:5**)

Even though he did not manage to deal any damage to Akiye, Aaron smiled happily towards her. Akiye returned it with a smile of her own. Not a dark evil one, but the one she rarely showed to anyone else.

"Final turn. I call Mordred Phantom and Revenger of Malice, Dilan. With a boost from Dilan, Raging Form Dragon attacks your Vanguard! With both of their skills, Raging Form gets 8000" (P:25000)

"No guard. Damage check... No trigger."

And with that, Aaron lost against Akiye.

"Hahaha... Even though I lost, I'm not sad at all. In fact, I feel so satisfied. Why is that?"

"That's because you already used all your strength to fight. Those who cardfight with all they have will never feel dissatisfied over what they have done."

"I see... Thanks, Senpai."

"No need to thank me. Now then, let's go back outside. I still need to test the other candidates."

"Okay. ...Ah, about what happened earlier, Senpai... Don't tell me you also have-"

With one hand raised, Akiye stopped Aaron from continuing his words.

"Meet me at the dark castle tonight. We'll talk then."


	9. Dark Side of United Sanctuary

"M-Master... Can you please be a bit gentler? It hurts a bit..."

"Ah... S-Sorry, Macha. This is the first time I did something like this, so I'm a bit nervous right now."

"Really? I see... Hehehe, so I'm your first time..."

"I'm sorry for hurting you, Macha. Let's see, what if I do this...?"

"Ukyuu?! M-Master, please don't suddenly move like that without telling me first."

"Haha, I'm sorry if I startled you. But... Hehe, that was cute of you to hold back your voice just now, Macha."

"! M-Master, please refrain from using such words right now! Otherwise... Khh?!"

"Hmm? Did you say something just now, Macha?"

"Y-You know that I did, Master-"

"Mmm... what a nice smell..."

"Hya?! M-Master, please don't talk with your mouth near my ear. It tickles..."

"Oh? So your ears are one of your weakspots? That's a nice find. Fuu..."

"Unyuu... Master, you meanie..."

"Haha, sorry but I can't help myself. You're just too cute to be left unteased, Macha..."

"Hau!? P-Please stop, Master... Uku?! You're making me... feel all weird... inside."

"I see. Then I'll stop... Just kidding."

"Nyaa?!"

"...You seem to be having fun with her, Master."

"Want to join too, Monaka?"

"I'll pass."

While flying on Darkside Pegasus, Aaron along with Macha who was controlling the winged horse and Monaka who was entrusted to act as Aaron's bodyguard headed towards the castle where the Shadow Paladins reside. Monaka who was trained to be able to adapt in any kind of situation was sitting casually on Darkside Pegasus without her balance broken, while Aaron who was only a normal(?) high school student had to wrap his arms around the slim waist belonging to Macha in front of him. Her cheeks were all red since the start of their flight.

"Hmm, the wind is getting stronger... Hey, Monaka. I know that you're a Battle Sister and that you're well trained and all, but even you can't survive falling from this height I think. I suggest you find something to hold on before the wind started to pick up speed."

"...I guess you're right. Then, please excuse me..."

With that, Monaka wrapped her arms around Aaron's neck, causing a certain part of her to be fully awared by Aaron through his back.

"M-Monaka?"

"What is it?"

"...No, it's nothing. _...Around D, huh?_"

* * *

"We've arrived."

As those words came out of her mouth, Macha slowly landed Darkside Pegasus on one of the round platforms sticking out of the higher levels of the dark castle.

"Hmm... So this is where the Shadow Paladins live."

"You've never been here before Monaka?"

"I never had any reason to, Master."

"Heh... Anyway, let's get inside first. Senpai's probably waiting already. Macha, if you would please lead the way."

"Understood. Then please follow me."

With Macha leading, the three began to walk towards the interior of the dark castle.

"By the way, what was that platform we landed on just now?"

"Oh, that is the take-off and landing platform for the usage of the dragons and the soldiers with flying mounts. It's been there since the time when Phantom Blaster Dragon-sama built the Shadow Paladins. During those times they were many of us who uses those platforms to mount on the Darkside Pegasi in order to rush to the battlefield, however now that it is peaceful they are rarely used right now."

"I see... If that's the case, then what were your unit doing inside Dragon Empire? It's not like you guys are in war with them or anything."

"That's classified information... is what I would like to tell you, but you would probably use some cruel method to make me speak so I'll tell you."

"Don't say that it's cruel. It's just possessing your body and make your memories my own, that's all."

"And you dare say that it's not cruel? Anyway... The reason for my unit to be sent there is because there have been weird sightings near that area."

"Weird sightings?"

"Apparently, some of the residents there stumbled upon units they have never seen before. They have grey metallic skin with tones of red and black on their bodies. There are also some sort of black rings around the arms and the legs."

"Black... rings..."

The expression on Aaron's face suddenly blackened when he heard those words. It triggered something inside his memories, one which he did not like remembering at all.

"Since we Shadow Paladins are experts in dealing with these kinds of work, my unit which specialized in reconnainsce was sent in order to investigate this matter. Although we haven't seen anything like what were mentioned by the Dragon Empire yet.

"I see..."

"Hmm? You look pale, Master. Is everything alright?"

"Ah... Y-Yeah, I'm fine Monaka. Macha, about those unknown units... Please be careful once you've found them."

"I don't know why you're so worried about them, but I'll do as you say. Who knows, they're probably tourist from Star Gate. That place is filled with aliens and robots."

Macha started laughing, but Aaron kept the worried look on his face. Monaka did not fail to notice this, but she did not press the matter further.

"Alright, here we are. Once we're through this door, we'll be inside the main part of the castle.

The door was big enough to fit through even dragons. Although it looked heavy, Macha alone was enough to push them inwards as she opened the door for the other two behind her. The moment the door was opened wide enough, a calamity occurred in the form of brown twintails.

"Macha-oneesama!"

"Guah?!"

With force large enough to topple even the trees near Great Nature University, Tartu launched herself towards the unsuspecting Macha and they both fell to the marble floor with Tartu on top.

"Welcome home, Macha-oneesama! I heard the news that you came back, so I ran here as fast as I could. I'm so glad that I get to see you!"

"Get... off... me... you idiot!"

While Tartu was hugging Macha on the floor, the blue-haired maiden struggled in order to free herself from the iron grip of the brown-haired female Revenger. Seeing this, the grim-looking Aaron suddenly started to laugh while Monaka remained vigilant in checking her surroundings.

"I see that you brought some friends, Aaron-kun."

Aaron turned towards the direction of the voice and saw Akiye walking towards them. To his surprise, she was wearing a purple slack dress with matching long gloves, shoes made of glasses and an amethyst necklace around her neck.

"Ah, Senpai... Why are you in a dress?"

"I had no choice. The soldiers from Shadow Paladin begged me to wear something like a princess. The men were crying and the girls were forcing me so hard that I had to wear this whenever I go here. ...Does it suits me?"

"It really does suit you, Senpai. You're like a fairy from one of those stories."

"Heh... Thanks for the compliment. But if you tell anyone about this, I'll make sure that you never see the light again. Understand?"

"Y-Yes..."

From a smile to one of her deadly gaze, the change of expression on Akiye's face was very fast indeed.

"I said... GET OFF!"

"Kyaa!"

Finally after managing to concentrate all her strength on her foot, Macha managed to kick Tartu away from her. As Macha stood back up and brushed the dust off her armor, Tartu started to cry on the ground in a maiden-like way.

"Fuee! Macha-oneesama kicked me!"

"It's your fault for suddenly jumping on me like that. You're lucky that I didn't even manage to draw my sword."

"Waaa! Macha-oneesama scolded me! Now she really hates me! I don't want her to hate me!"

"Stop crying for god sakes! You're one of the Shadow Paladin, and even a Revenger to boot! Don't act like some little girl who just got scolded by her mother!"

"Fuee! Now she's angry! I don't want Macha-oneesama to be angry at me! Waa!"

And Tartu continued to cry while Macha tried to pacify her through her own words.

"...Should we leave for a quieter place? There's a room near here that's perfect for us to talk."

"Sounds good. Macha, take care of Tartu okay?"

"Ah, wait! Don't just leave me here with this crybaby!"

"Fue! Now she called me a crybaby! Macha-oneesama really does hates me!"

"Stop crying!"

And just like that, Akiye and Aaron plus Monaka left the two maidens there.

* * *

The room they were in can be considered the smallest inside the castle for a mere size of thirty tatamis. The view from the mirror was superb, and the furnitures inside were made of high class materials. Naturally, Akiye sat on the grandest looking chair there while Aaron sat on the sofa in front of her with Monaka standing behind him.

"Now then, what do you want to ask about?"

With legs crossed, Akiye asked Aaron about what he wanted to know at the end of their duel earlier.

"You already gave me the answer when you appeared here too, Senpai."

"I see... So you wanted to talk about that, huh?"

"Yes... Senpai, you also have the ability to talk to the units and go to Cray right?"

"That's correct. Otherwise, I won't be able to talk with you here inside our dreams, won't I? Although I doubt that this can be called a dream since we're not actually dreaming."

"So Senpai is the same as me... I'm not the only one with this power, huh?"

Although Aaron was glad as he let out a sigh of relief, he also felt worried about something else.

"Senpai... Can you tell me how you get your powers?"

"...Why do you want to know?"

"Well... I just wanted to know why we are given this power. When I received mine, I lost something very dear to me... Not only that, the world had changed since that day. I thought that it was my fault that it happened."

"Don't tell me... Master, are you still blaming yourself for what happened to them?"

Although Monaka asked in a worried tone, Aaron remained silent.

"I see... Looks like you have your own problems before gaining this power. ...You can say that I also receive this power after going through a similar situation to yours Aaron-kun."

"Can you tell me more about it, Senpai? About the time you gained this power?"

Akiye placed a hand on her chin as she thought about it.

"Let's see... I think it's around the time after I fell off from a cliff."

"I see... Wait, what?!"

"Hehe, I see that you're surprised Aaron-kun. That's not surprising, considering that almost everyone who heard about my childhood were the same."

"C-Can you tell me what happened, Senpai?"

"...Sure. Now then, where should I start?"

The story went like this: Akiye was born in a Russian family which has a noble bloodline of being masters of card games all over the world. At the age of ten, Akiye was given a test by her father in order to find out which path of card game she would follow from then on. It was a simple test of finding a card hidden by her father, something that even a ten-year-old girl like her can do without risking her life.

"I was unlucky on that day. When I was doing the test, I got so occupied in trying to find a card that I got lost. Well, there were my footsteps on the snow so I thought I could just trace them back to my home. However, my bad luck didn't end just there."

An unexpected blizzard which even her father did not anticipate suddenly hit the area while Akiye was still outside. As she had been wearing all the proper equipment Akiye remained in fine condition, however she could not see anything beyond ten meters ahead of her. Thinking that her father could understand, she decided to return home and take the test on another day.

"My footsteps were already buried by the blizzard, so I have nothing to depend on in order to reach my home. I never thought of just waiting there and wait for my father to come to me because of the stories of people dying inside blizzards which I frequently hear during that time. I only walked aimlessly as I tried to find my way back to my house."

That was when it happened. Without being able to see anything around her, Akiye accidentally made her way to the edge of a cliff. With just one step, her foot slipped through the snow and her body plunged into the whiteness of falling.

"It was really scary you know. Suddenly thrown into the air like that without any warning whatsoever. I thought that I would die there and be buried by the snow, never to be seen again by my family. That was when something unexpected happened."

"What happened, Senpai?"

Aaron asked with nervousness all over his face. Akiye gave a smile in reply.

"I was saved by someone. During that time, when I was still failing from that cliff, I wished to not die and hoped really hard to be saved. That was when I saw him jumping off from the cliff and dived towards me with great speed, grabbing me under his arms and protected me from the fall using his own back."

"W-Who was the one who saved you, Senpai?"

"It was Blaster Dark, although I didn't know about that until I met him here."

"W-What? Blaster Dark!?"

Even though Aaron was shocked to hear this, Akiye remained smiling at him.

"Apparently with the right conditions, the people from Cray can also visit our place although their power and the time they can exist is limited unlike us."

"C-Can you do something like that too, Monaka?"

"Yes. However, it would take a medium and enough power in order for me to do so. There is also the problem of the weather, day and the location of the sun and the moon, so they aren't many chances for me to do so. Incidentally, the most fitting day for us to go to Earth is on Halloween."

"I see..."

As Aaron went into pondering, Akiye resumed her story. After waking up to find herself unscathed on the snow, she stood up and found out that the blizzard had already vanished. As she thought of going back home, she saw one of the cards that was hidden by her father near her feet and picked it up. It was a card from the game Cardfight Vanguard, and the unit was Blaster Dark Revenger.

"Since then, it was decided that I would play Vanguard as a representative of my family. To tell you the truth, I had no interest of playing card games. However after that near-death experience and another one which involved me going to Cray for the first time, I decided to play Vanguard."

"I see... Looks like you've gone through a lot during your childhood, Senpai."

"Hehe, well it's part of growing up I guess."

Akiye chuckled on the idea, although it was something that cannot be considered a joke at all.

"As for me... I got this power after she appeared in order to protect me from danger, something like what Blaster Dark did to you Senpai. In my case however... She and some of her comrades sacrificed themselves in exchange for my safety. If only they didn't do that, then they would still be..."

Aaron gritted his teeth and gripped his hands hard. He was truly angry at himself for being unable to do anything for them during that time when he was still an innocent kid.

"...I'm curious about your story, but I won't ask about it until you're ready to tell me. Forcing you to do so would only make it more painful for you."

"...Thank you, that I heard the story about yourself without telling mine."

"It's not a big deal. Just treat this as a gift from me."

"Eh? What do you mean, Senpai?"

Akiye smiled at Aaron while giving words that did not answer to his question.

"Let's go back for now. You will need all the rest that you can get for tomorrow, Aaron-kun."


	10. A Meeting With The Principal

"So this is what she meant yesterday. Mmm, this doesn't feel bad at all."

Amber Class Dorm, Dorm Supervisor's Office at 4 in the morning. Aaron who had been asleep got a morning love call from the beautiful dorm supervisor in person, giving him one of the most unforgettable mornings in his entire life. As for the reason for that…

"It really suits you, Aaron-san."

"Thanks, Airin. Yours also fits you perfectly."

Standing next to Aaron in a yellow blazer decorated with a pink ribbon around the collar, white skirt and matching long kneesocks with brown shoes, Airin remained as lively as ever even though it was still too early for any of the students to wake up. On a side note, Aaron wore a yellow and white coat over his black singlet accompanied with light blue long jeans and brown shoes.

"Both of you look magnificent ! I knew I was right to make these uniforms for the Vice Class Reps."

"I see. So you're the one who made this huh, Dorm Supervisor? Thanks."

"No need to thank me. All I want is your burning, passionate heart for cardfighting!"

The ever so passionate Hiromi winked at the two, resulting in Aaron giving a wry smile while Airin kept smiling happily.

"By the way, is it okay for us to receive these? They look very expensive…"

"Don't worry, the ambers are fakes so it's okay even if you lose them somehow. However, it is your proof that you're a representative from Amber Class, so wear it at all times."

While saying that, Akiye waver her hair using her hand, emphasizing the amber earring hanging on her right ear. The same jewels were worn by Airin on the middle of her ribbon while for Aaron it was pinned on the left side of his coat like a badge.

"Now then, as for which Class Rep you will be tutored from, I will be in charge of Aaron-kun while Airin-chan will be handled by the other Class Rep. However, since that guy isn't here right now I'll be taking care of Airin-chan as well until he comes back. Do I make myself clear?"

""Yes, Senpai (Akiye-neechan)!""

Hearing the two of them replied with high spirits, Akiye smiled at her new Vice Class Reps. Yes, Aaron and Airin had passed the test given by Akiye and Hiromi and became Vice Class Reps for the Amber Class.

"By the way, who is the other Class Rep, Akiye-neechan?"

"Ah… Heh, I won't tell you yet. Please look forward to meeting him by yourself."

"?"

"If you have no other questions, then you're dismissed. Please start wearing your new uniform starting from today."

* * *

"Kyaa! So cute!"

"Ah! No fair! I want to hug Airin-chan too!"

"I'm next! I'm next!"

"P-Please wait… Hahaha, it tickles!"

When Aaron and Airin entered the auditorium for joint classes with the Ruby and Fluorite Class, Airin was instantly surrounded by the other first-year girls of Cardfight Gakuen. Aaron smiled as he looked at how many friends Airin had already made.

"Looks like you've become a Vice Class Rep too, huh?"

Turning towards the voice, Aaron saw Delta standing with a smirk on his face. He was wearing a different kind of grey uniform than yesterday.

"I see… You've become one too, huh?"

"Of course. Who the hell do you think I am?"

"One of the top 8 cardfighters in the world who lost to the other 7 world-class fighters."

"You chose that of all things?! Well, never mind. I'm here because of the bet we made yesterday. Since I've became a Vice Class Rep, you'll keep away from Airin from now on!"

"But I've become a Vice Class Rep too, so wouldn't that mean that you will have to forget that this bet has ever happened?"

"… Heh, so you made a loophole in case I became a Vice Class Rep huh? As expected from a trickster like you."

"Er, no… You're the one who set up the bet like that, so…"

"Well, fine. Instead, I challenge to a duel, Aaron! If I win, you'll leave Airin alone forever. If you win, I'll treat that this duel never happened."

"You know, those rules only benefit yourselves… And as I said before, I refuse to treat Airin as some sort of prize, so no."

With one wave of his hand, Aaron turned and walked away from Delta.

"Wait! Are you running away from a duel, you coward?!"

"I see no reason for me to fight you, Delta. Besides, why don't you just confess to Airin? It's not like I'm stopping you or anything."

"Heh… Do you think that I'll go to this extend if I can do that?!"

"Oh… So you're afraid of being dumped, huh?"

"Shut up! I'll show you that I'm the one who fits to be by Airin's side, not you who used some kind of cheap trick to get her heart. Yes, I'll defeat you and release Airin from you charm, you playboy!"

"_This guy… He's got some serious issues here_…"

Delta took out one of the decks he kept on his belt and held it tightly in his right while showing the front of the deck to Aaron.

"Now then, let's Vanguard, Aaron- Ouch!"

Without any kind of warning, a fist landed on top of Delta's head.

"That hurts! Oi, who dared to punch me on the head just now- Ah…"

"Fufufu… Ara, ara. Your first day as Vice Class Rep and you're already making a ruckus, Delta?"

"Y-Yuri-sensei…"

Yes. The one who hit him was none other than the demonic disciplinary teacher, Yuri. Although he was still a first year, Delta knew how dangerous it is to anger this sadistic human while she is around.

"It's nice that you're all fired up to play Vanguard. However, I do not allow students to do so inside my class without my permission. So I'll be confiscating your decks."

In an instant, all the decks Delta had with him were taken away, even the one he kept hidden inside his coat.

"No!My Machining deck! My hybrids! Ouch!"

"Meet me at the counseling room during lunch today. I'll return these to you after some "life counseling' session."

With that, Yuri-sen

* * *

sei headed to the front of the auditorium.

"…Hmm, I'll let you off this time Aaron. But next time, you won't be so lucky."

Delta left Aaron and went back to his seat.

"…"

"Aaron-san, what were you talking with that person just now?"

"…It's nothing that you should worry about, Airin."

"?"

* * *

Noon after morning class.

"Don't you run from us, Papa Delta!"

"Like I'll listen to you, Shiori! I have no time to treat you and Kat lunch. I have to get back my decks from Yuri-sensei! And what's with that name you called me just now?! I'm not your father!"

"I won't let you get away, Delta!"

Apart from Delta being chased by two female Vice Class Reps; the green one holding a rope while the purple one was holding knives in both hands, it was a normal lunch break.

"Now then… Want to go get lunch, Airin?"

"Okay, Aaron-san!"

"Airin-chan! Let's go to the cafeteria together!"

"Ah, sorry. I'm eating with Aaron-san today."

"I see. You sure are lucky to have a boy asking you for a lunch date. I'm jealous~"

"Eh? Ah, no, i-it's not like it's a date or anything."

"Hehe… Then why don't you all join us? I don't mind at all, right Airin?"

"Yes, Aaron-san!"

"Really? Then we'll take up on your offer."

Just like that: Five girls have joined Aaron's group. The group then went outside as they headed towards the cafeteria together. On the way, they met with a familiar face which everyone knew.

"Ah, Senpai. Good afternoon."

"Good afternoon, Aaron-kun. …Heh, it's only your second day here and you made yourself a harem already? I'm kind of impressed at you."

"Ha-re-mu? What is a harem, Aaron-san?"

"It's better for you to not know, Airin. Anyway, what brings you to the first-year building Senpai?"

"Isn't it obvious? I'm searching for some delicious first-years to eat tonight."

""…""

"Just kidding. I'm actually here to get you, Aaron-kun."

"…To eat me up?"

"Although that's an interesting idea, we'll have to postpone that. Now then, follow me."

"Sorry, Airin. Looks like I won't be able to eat together with you today too."

"It's okay, Aaron-san. There's always next time, right?"

Aaron nodded in reply to Airin's smile before turning to her friends.

"You girls take care of Airin, okay?"

"Leave it to us! We'll definitely protect Airin-chan's purity from any of the boys here."

"Err, doesn't that include me too?"

"We heard what you did for Airin-chan on her first day here, so you're an exception."

"Okay, then see you all later!"

With a wave, Aaron parted with the group as he hurried to reach Akiye's side.

"Where are we going, Senpai?"

Aaron asked Akiye who replied to his question without turning her head towards him.

"We're going to the Principal's Office. Principal Sol Kage would like to have a word with you."

"Err… I don't remember doing anything wrong, I think. Why does he want to see me?"

"Don't worry. It's not like you're being punished or something like that. He just wanted to talk to you about the powers we have."

"You mean… The principal knows about it?!"

Aaron was utterly shocked by this statement.

"Yes, although there are still a few mysteries left about this powers of ours that Sol Kage doesn't know. However, he can teach you the basic understanding of it."

"I see… Does he also possess the same kind of powers as ours?"

"You could say yes… and you could say no at the same time. Sol Kage's powers are even greater than ours."

As Akiye and Aaron continued to talk to each other, they passed through the counseling room where Aaron could hear screams coming from inside.

"No! My Machinings!"

"Fufufu… Ara, it's over already? Then let's go for another round, shall we?"

"Kuh… Damn it!"

However Aaron ignored it as he continued to follow Akiye to the principal's office. After a while, they finally stopped in front of a two-door entrance which bear the nameplate 'Principal Sol Kage's Office'. Knocking on the door thrice, Akiye spoke loud enough so that the inside of the room could hear her.

"It's Akiye. I brought Aaron-kun with me."

After the words 'Come in' were heard, Akiye followed by Aaron entered through the entrance. They continued to walk until they stopped near the middle of the room.

"Welcome, Aaron-kun. I am the principal of this Cardfight Gakuen, Sol Kage. Nice to meet you."

"…"

Inside the office with all sorts of antiques and books arranged in order, a man in glasses turned and smiled at them while standing beside the window with the view of the forests and the sea behind. Sitting on the sofa in the heart of the room was a small girl with long brown hair wearing a flower-embedded kimono.

"_This person… I see._"

Aaron took a glance at the little girl and then looked at the man before a smirk appeared on his face.

"Hey, don't be rude Aaron-kun. Greet our principal back."

"Okay."

Without wasting a single second, Aaron straightened his posture and gave a knight's bow of respect with his right hand on his left chest… after turning to look at the little girl in kimono.

"Nice to meet you, Principal Sol Kage."

The room went into silence for a moment. Of course it would if Aaron suddenly addressed not the man, but the pretty 10 year-old girl sitting silently while watching Akiye and Aaron as Sol Kage. Even though he had seen the man inside the office referring to himself as 'Sol Kage' during the entrance ceremony of Cardfight Gakuen, Aaron turned to the little girl who he had never seen before instead and addressed her as the principal of Cardfight Gakuen.

"… Heh, hahahaha! What, you told him about me already Ki-chan?"

"No, I didn't say anything to him. He recognized you as Sol Kage without any help from me. And if you call me Ki-chan again, I'll bury your whole body on the beach while leaving your head outside to be hit by the waves."

"Hahahaha! I see, I see. I didn't expect him to see through me so easily, but I guess it must be easy if he has the same powers as you Ki-chan."

"Kuh… Please don't call me Ki-chan…"

Akiye pouted when Sol Kage whose manner of speech resembled those who had live a long age ignored her threat without even twitching an eye. Aaron thought that it was cute of her to do so.

"Well done, little boy. As a reward, you may touch my tail."

"Touch your tail… Woah?!"

In an instant, fluffy tails of brown color totaling nine appeared behind the little girl. Each of them had such beautiful fur that Aaron could not find any fault in them.

"Fox tails..?"

"Now, don't be shy. Touch any of them if you like. I'm confident in the fluffiness of my tails."

"O-Okay, then…"

Walking to the back of the little girl who had fox-like ears coming out of her head at that point, Aaron stopped to look at the tails which grown out from behind her. Sure enough, he could not deny that they were real.

"What's with you staring like that, little boy? Do you like to stare at other people's behind?"

"Ah… s-sorry. Then…"

With one hand, Aaron touched the nearest tail to him. Although he had expected it to be soft, he never expected the tail to be so soft and fluffy that even his heart got affected by the fluffiness.

"! Hey! I never said that you can stroke them!"

"Ah, s-sorry!"

Without even him noticing, Aaron had started stroking the fluffy tail with one hand. What a dangerous weapon of fluffiness, Aaron thought as he immediately let go of his hand.

"You shouldn't do beyond anything which a person gave permission to! If I said that you can touch my tail, you CAN only touch them, not suddenly stroking them like that. I'm very sensitive, you know?"

"S-Sorry, I didn't know what came over me. They were so fluffy that I accidentally…"

Aaron apologized while Sol Kage suddenly went deep into thought.

"… But you know, the way you stroke them was so gentle that it surprised even me… Okay, I've decided. You'll become my personal groomer, little boy."

"Eh, EHHHH!?"

"Please refrain yourself, Sol Kage-sama. If you do that, you'll probably smother him with your tails due to the affection and kill him."

"That's rude, Judge. I never kill you when you did it to me, right?"

"Yes, but I was half-dead most of the time after that."

The man straightened his glasses while talking seriously to Sol Kage like a secretary.

"Er, sorry but I never catch your real name."

"Ah, sorry. My name is JudgeofApocalypse, but you may call me Judge. Nice to meet you, Aaron-san."

"Ah, nice to meet you too. And, this may be rude to ask you Sol Kage-san, but are you…?"

"Oh, so you noticed, huh? Hahaha!"

Sol Kage laughed hard again as she went to the chair behind the only desk there inside the office and sat on it. While showing off her nine tails and the sneaky-looking smile together with her fox-like ears, she gave the answer to Aaron's question.

"As you might have guessed, I'm a person from the Planet Cray which you all know about. My full name is Ama-Tsuku-Sol-Kage which bears the meaning 'Moon on the Sky behind Shadow of Sun', and I'm a fox goddess on a higher level as Himiko-chan and Fortuna-chan."

"Himiko and Fortuna? Then that means you belong to Genesis, Sol Kage-san?"

"That's correct! If you want to, you can use me in cardfights whenever you want. That is if you can find my card of course. It's in an entirely different name than my full name."

"Err… You mean this?"

Taking his reserve deck made of unused cards from his belt, Aaron pulled out a card from it and showed it to Sol Kage. Sure enough, it was a complete match-up to the fox girl Aaron was facing. When she saw this, her ears started twitching, her tails wagged happily and her eyes were filled with stars.

"Oh?! So you have it? I'm impressed! It's supposed to be one of the cards which disappeared in Vanguard because of my disappearance from Cray."

"Now that I think about it, you also had that Alfred Alter card, Aaron-kun. Where did you find all these rare cards?"

"Well, a lot of things happened… _I can't tell them about shop-ojiisan, otherwise they might fire him_."

With that resolve in his heart, Aaron decided not to tell them that he got all these cards from the old man who run the only card shop in the island.

"Hehe, I see. Well, I won't ask any further. Now then, shouldn't we start talking about the main reason we called Aaron-kun here? Lunch break will be over in half an hour."

"Don't worry, Akiye-san. I already asked for you and Aaron-san to be excused from classes for the rest of the day. We can take things slowly without any worries."

"I see…"

"Hahaha, do you feel lucky that you won't have to attend class, little boy?"

"Yes. I hate to listen in classes after all."

"HAHAHA! You're really funny, little boy. Umu, as a reward for being interesting to me, from now on I shall call you A-chan. You should be grateful, A-chan."

"T-Thank you?"

"Please be serious here, Sol Kage-sama. Although we don't have to worry about them running late for class… Ah, the two of you haven't eaten your lunch yet right?"

"Yes, Judge-san. I was just about to head to the cafeteria when Senpai came to bring me here."

"That's troubling… We can't have you skip lunch can we? How about I call the cafeteria to bring in some food here?"

"There's no need for that, Judge. I know of a place where we can enjoy lunch while talking."

With that, Sol Kage snapped her fingers and the world around them disappeared.

* * *

"Hahaha, now don't be shy! Eat them while they're still hot!"

The sky was dark with the moon waning behind the clouds. It was night time in Cray, yet the liveliness of the city where the Genesis clan lived was as though it was still morning. Aaron, Akiye, Judge and Sol Kage were sitting in a restaurant located at the highest point of the city with all sorts of food placed on the table in front of them.

"Err… Can we really eat all these? No, I don't mean that I don't want to eat, but aren't we supposed to be spirits in Cray?"

"What are you talking about, A-chan? Didn't Ki-chan explain about my powers to you?"

"Sorry, but Senpai didn't say anything about your powers other than it is greater than ours."

"Can't be helped, I'll tell you then. My powers allow me to bend time and space between the planet you all called Earth and my home planet Cray. Although it's only limited within Genesis' home city, I can bring even your bodies to this planet."

"Wha- That's amazing. You're that powerful, Sol Kage-san?"

"Hahaha, I am a goddess after all."

"I see… Well, I can understand up to this point. So what are you doing here, Monaka? And even Tartu showed up."

Aaron looked to the girls who seemed out of place in that area; the sister of Oracle Think Tank Monaka and the black knight Shadow Paladin Tartu. On a side note, Monaka was sitting next to Aaron while Tartu was sitting next to Akiye.

"I-It can't be helped. I'm assigned to be your bodyguard after all."

"Hehe, sorry for disturbing. Ah, I almost forgot. Macha-oneesama told me to say hi to you and said that she's sorry for not coming since she's busy."

"Hmm… Well, never mind. I'll be having lunch first. Or is it dinner here? Well… Itadakimasu."

After a moment later, they all finished with the food served.

"Hah, it's been a while since I had such delicious food. Maybe I should come here more often… Fuah~"

"Please refrain yourself, Sol Kage-sama. If you do that, then you'll most likely sleep until the world ends. You still have a job to do as the principal of Cardfight Gakuen."

"Shut up, Judge. I know my responsibilities."

"Err, can I ask you something Sol Kage-san? Why did you create Cardfight Gakuen?"

"Hmmm… You can call it a hobby? I've been bored for several hundred years after arriving at Earth, so I thought I should make a school concerning Cardfight Vanguard. Ah, I won't answer any more questions after that. You'll probably ask me why I'm on Earth and not in Cray or something."

"I see…"

"Sol Kage, I know this is rude of me but can we go straight to our main topic for today? Now that we've eaten and all, I would like us to proceed with it."

"You're such an impatient girl, Ki-chan. Nobody's going to want you as a girlfriend, you know?"

"Don't worry. I only like younger boys than me."

"Oh, so that means A-chan is in your strike zone?"

"Well… Hehehe…"

Akiye smirked in an evil way, causing a bit of fright inside Aaron.

"So… why did you call me to your office, Sol Kage-san?"

"I heard yesterday from Ki-chan that she found someone with the same powers as hers, so I want to see you in person. She also said that you had some questions about that power of yours."

"Yes. What is this power? Talking with the cards, even travelling to Cray in corporeal spirit form, why does this power exist, and why did I gain this power after…"

Aaron stopped his words before he managed to let it out. He cannot utter the words he kept hidden inside his heart.

"…Sorry, but even one who lives long such as me does not know the true nature of this power. However, I do know that this power has a name. Its name is Psyqualia: a power which allows the players to communicate with the people of Cray during Cardfight."

"Psyqualia…"

"Usually, this power gives the player an image which will lead those chosen to victory. However, after certain incidents which even I have very little information about, the power changed and evolved to allow the people from Earth to meet and talk with the people of Cray. As for the reason this power is for, I don't quite understand myself."

"I see… Does it do anything else other than that? Like for example… powering up the units you have in your deck?"

"Hahaha! What is that? Psyqualia is only an ability that allows communication and method of travel between Earth and Cray although mentally only. It is not something that can suddenly give power-ups to the people of Cray."

"I see… Haha, I thought that with this power I can make Monaka here become stronger."

"Wait a minute. Are you implying that I am weak?"

"N-No, I just thought you might like to be stronger than what you are now. You do want to settle the score with Cookie right?"

"…I see your point. However, I do not enjoy getting a shorter path in order to be able to battle Cookie-neesama as an equal. I want to do it using my own strength."

"I see… Haha, I guess that's just like you, Monaka."

Aaron smiled at Monaka, although the inside of his heart was filled with negative thoughts.

"_Psyqualia, huh? Well, at least I can assume that the power Senpai has is safe for her to use. Huh, I have hoped that Sol Kage-san knows about it, but I guess I was wrong. …... No, I promised the two of them that I won't talk about it to anyone. Especially since the power that I have… is similar yet different than what Sol Kage-san told me about_."

As Aaron thought all this, Akiye noticed the change in expression on his face but decided not to ask him about it.

"Now then, shall we go back? Ah, waiter. Please send the bill for this food to Minerva. Tell her it's for her beloved fox goddess~"

Should you not be paying all these yourself, most of the people there had that thought inside their minds but decided to keep quiet about it.

* * *

After class, at the Amber Class Dorm, an unexpected visitor appeared.

"Yo, Akiye-san! I've come to visit my dear sweet girl- Ouch!"

"If you dare say that again Juchen, I'll give your Astreas to the sharks at the aquarium."

"We have an aquarium here? Wait, no! Don't do that to my poor Astreas!"

As usual, Juchen got beaten up and threatened by Akiye for trying to pass that she was someone very close to him.

"So? What brings you here, Juchen?"

"Hehe, well I heard that Kanade-chan's brother has become one of your Vice Class Reps so I thought that I should challenge you and him for a friendly duel."

"…Oh? You have guts to come to my dorm and then challenge us for a duel, Juchen. Heh, well fine. So I guess the two behind you must be the members you took to challenge us, right?"

"Yep, let me introduce you to them! The first one is my own Vice Class Rep, BC! The other one is a player who failed to become a Vice Class Rep but still manage to get in the Top 4 of our Class Dorm, River! Give us a clap!"

"Hey yo, BC is in the house!"

"Hello. We'll be bothering you all for a while, so please take care of us."

A hot-spirited BC and a gentleman-like River. These two were members that Juchen chose to be part of the team to challenge Akiye and the Amber Class Dorm.

"And we're…"

"The Aqua…"

"Delta Force!"

Like that, the three (although one looked reluctant) did a team pose while some sort of water crushing a rock illusion appeared behind them.

"…You know Juchen, I always treat you like trash since the time we met on our first year. But now I changed my mind. Yes, you're worse than trash."

"Hmm? Senpai, who are these people?"

"Ah, Aaron-kun, Airin-chan, you two came at the right time. These people from Sapphire Class Dorm who I do not know are here to challenge us on a 3-on-3 duel match. Well, I don't mind since it allows me to kill time."

"Hey, don't just treat me like I'm sort of stranger!"

"Would you two like to help me? Of course, it's not a suggestion. It's an order."

While ignoring Juchen, Akiye gave a smile(?) to the two Vice Class Reps.

"Ahaha… Well, I always wanted to have a duel with the other dorms. What about you, Airin?"

"I don't mind at all!"

"Good, well then. Let's get our game on, shall we? Oh, just nice. I have these strings which we can use to draw lots. The pair who holds both ends of the string will fight each other. Isn't it more interesting than Class Rep VS Class Rep and Vice Class Rep VS Vice Class Rep?"

Nobody disagreed with Akiye, because the smile on her face clearly was not something to go against.

* * *

"Aha… I lost."

"That was a good match, Airin-san. Your Celestials are really strong, I would've have lost if I didn't get a heal trigger."

"Mmm, but losing feels really terrible right? But my Papa said that I should fight through the pain like what he did when he was small… Okay, I'll do my best!"

"Hehe… Now then, what about the other two…"

River who had just won against Airin turned towards the other members ofJuchen's Aqua Delta Force. When he turned at BC…

"Ahaha, that guy has it rough."

5 damage with no cards left in his hand, while his opponent had two more attacks left to hit him. Not a situation which he could survive.

"Go, Raging Form Dragon! Pierce through with infinite rage! Raging Burst!"

Like that, Revonn got pierced into smithereens by the tornado sword of Raging Form Dragon, the 6th damage entered the Damage Zone confirming BC's loss.

"No, the pain! The gain! Such furiosity which even the dog cannot go against yo! But I will survive!"

"Like I said, please don't rap with words that people can't understand, BC…"

"Ah, Scrappy my friend. You were here?"

"Of course! This is my dorm you know!"

There was no sign of feeling the pain of losing on BC's face as he talked to his close friend Scrappy. His opponent, Akiye let out a sigh as she turned to look at Aaron's and Juchen's match. River and Airin did the same as they went nearer to the two.

"Since this is my fourth attack, the skill that Tetra Drive Dragon got from his Limit Break is activated! Rise again in the midst of this storm, Tetra Drive Dragon!"

Juchen counterblasted two cards in the Damage Zone and drop two cards from his hand, standing Tetra Drive Dragon in his Vanguard Circle.

"With this, it's over! Tetra Drive Dragon, blast that Oracle Queen Himiko with your hydro cannons. Sacred Storm!" (P: 26000)

"Sorry Senpai, but I won't let that pass! I drop one card due to Transcore Dragon's Break Ride skill, then I perfect guard with Goddess of Self-sacrifice, Kushinada!"

A _girl_ suddenly appeared in front of Himiko, blocking the water jets from hitting.

_"Thank you, Kushinada-san."_

_"No worries, Aaron-sama. Well then, I'll take my leave now. Take care of Himiko-sama okay?"_

_"Don't worry, let it to me."_

"Heh, turn end."

"Stand and draw."

When Aaron drew the card from his deck, a smile appeared on his face.

"Alright…" Himiko, are the preparations ready?

_"No problems, Aaron-sama. All that's left is for you to use me."_

"Thanks. …Even in different time, different space, different dimension, you have lead the others with your vigorous spirit and flames of righteousness. Appear now and burn through fate and destiny themselves! Break Ride The Vanguard!"

A huge pillar of fire appeared which enveloped Himiko immediately. The ground trembled, the air shook, even the sky split as the burning flame blazed through the virtual reality world. And from that inferno, a small figure with nine tails growing on her back and fox ears on her head appeared in a grand kimono illustrating yin and yang, positive and negative, fire and water.

"神火狐女神(Shin Ka Ko Megami/God Flame Fox Goddess), Kyuubihime!"

It was a fox shaped human, with a fan on one hand with the words "Burning Victory" printed on it.

_"Hahaha! What is this, A-chan? You're already using me?"_

_"Sorry if I'm bothering you. Are you busy right now?"_

_"I always leave the work to Judge, so I have lots of free time."_

_"I see… Then I'll be borrowing your strength, Kyuubihime!"_

_"Oh!"_

"What the- Kyuubihime?! I… I… What a really cute card! That loli body, those fox ears, that confident smile while still being a small innocent child. Damn it, why aren't you a card in Aqua Force?!"

_"…Oi, A-chan. Can I kill this brat?"_

_"Please stop, Kyuubihime. He's a Class Rep from Sapphire Class Dorm. Murdering him will cause lots of trouble for the school."_

_"I guess you're right… Umu, I'll leave it to you to make him suffer then."_

"Break Ride Skill. I choose Battle Maiden, Sahohime and Battle Maiden Mihikarihime and give them 5000 power. To continue, Kyuubihime gets 10000 and an additional skill. Then I activate Kyuubihime's skill, Soulblast 6! When I ride her, I can pay the cost to give her another 5000 and an additional critical."

"Power 26000 and critical 2… Damn it, I really want her in my Aqua Force! Why are you in Genesis?!"

"…Stupid lolicon."

"Hmm? What's a lolicon, Akiye-neesan?"

"Nothing, Airin. It's just a person who's lower than those who are worse than trash."

"? I don't quite understand, but that means they are bad people right?"

"You can think like that if you want to."

"Hey! Don't just call me lolicon alright! And I'm not a bad person!"

_"…A-chan, please don't hold back against him. I want to kill him so badly…"_

_"Please endure it, Kyuubihime…"_ "Witch of Owls, Paprika and Witch of Frogs, Melissa's skill. When these two cards are sent to the Drop Zone from the soul, I can superior call them! Now then, with a boost from Melissa, Sahohime attacks Tetra Drive Dragon!" (P:21000)

"No guard. Damage check."

Revealing no trigger, Juchen put the fifth damage into his Damage Zone.

"Good, no trigger. Let's go, Kyuubihime! With a boost from Tatsutahime, she attacks Tetra Drive Dragon!" (P:33000)

Take this, brat! Seal of the Fox Goddess: 炎の尾獣波! (Honoo No Bijuuha/Flame Blast of the Tailed Beast!)

Concentrating the fire spirits on all of her nine tails, Kyuubihime directed all of them into one big sphere which was then released like a wave by the cute roar of the small fox goddess. Although the user was small and sweet-looking, the flame shockwave released was certainly deadly while it devastated everything in its path, burning without leaving a single trace of dust.

"I perfect guard with Emerald Shield, Paschal!"

And in the path of that destruction, a green-haired soldier appeared and released a shield made of emerald, cutting through the wave into two which passed by Tetra Drive Dragon without giving any harm.

_"What?! You dare block my attack, brat?! I'll be sure to have you cursed for life!"_

"Twin drive, first check, second check, critical trigger! I give power to Paprika and the critical to Kyuubihime."

"Huh? You're giving the critical to your Vanguard? Oi, isn't that a waste? It's not like her attack hits me or anything. Shouldn't you give it to your rear-guard?"

"Yeah. In normal cases, I should be giving the critical to my rearguard right? However, for Kyuubihime, that's not the case."

"Eh? What do you mean?"

"Well, let me show you then, Senpai. See the world beyond the limits, and release thy anger while entering that world! Kyuubihime, Limit Break!"

_"Heh, I was waiting for that!"_

While saying that, Kyuubihime closed the fan in her hands and throw it high up into the air. After that, she clapped her palms together so hard that it released a loud 'Pa' sound.

"At the close step of the battle that Kyuubihime attacks, I can choose three of my rear-guards and put them into the soul. Sahohime, Melissa and Tatsutahime, fuse your powers with Kyuubihime to rewrite time and space, fate and destiny, victory and defeat!"

Aaron put the three selected rear-guards and put them into the soul, the cards under the Vanguard inside the Vanguard Circle.

"And then I Counterblast two cards from my Damage Zone. With these done, I can activate Kyuubihime's Limit Break. Using her Limit Break, I can retire your rear-guards with equal or lower Grade than the number of Criticals that Kyuubihime has."

"W-What?! Then that means…"

"Yes. Since her Critical is now 3, she can retire all of your rear-guards with grade 3 or less. In other words, every single one of your rear-guards!"

Light started gathering onto the fan which Kyuubihime threw into the air. Pulling her hands apart from each other, the gathered light turned into one massive ball of light, shining like a full moon on the sky.

"Take this, Senpai! The light of judgment of the fox goddess who received both the blessings of the sun and the moon."

_"Moonlight Cannon!"_

Raising her hands high and moved them towards Tetra Drive Dragon as if she was pushing something really hard, Kyuubihime fired the concentrated ball of light in the air towards the defenseless Aqua Force. Destruction could not even be used to describe the scene. It was a total massacre as the huge beam of light slammed towards Juchen's area, causing all of the rear-guards to disappear into pieces of light when they were hit by the light.

"Kuh… What a terrifying Limit Break…"

"Now then, I've destroyed all your intercepts already Senpai. And the last two cards in your hand are a Grade 3 and a 10k shield. It won't be enough to stop me. Now then, go Paprika! Finish Tetra Drive Dragon off!" (P:27000)

The white owl from her shoulder flew towards Tetra Drive Dragon, causing huge damage on contrary to its size.

"Damage check, no trigger… Hahaha, it's my lose!"

Even though he lost, Juchen laughed out loud over his defeat.

"Fuh… I thought I almost lose back there."

"Aaron-san, you were amazing just now! "

"Haha, thank you Airin. But I got the feeling that Juchen-senpai wasn't playing serious with me."

"Heh, well that is his reserve deck, Aaron-kun. However, you should be proud that you manage to fight on equal terms with Juchen. Although you still need much more training if you want to beat him or any of us Class Reps in a real duel."

"Ahaha… Yeah, you're right Senpai."

While Aaron was laughing, the two other Sapphire Class Dorm members approached him and gave him their congratulations.

"That was one radical fight man! You shine like the light and send the boss packing his bags away, yo!"

"Err…Thanks?"

"That was a splendid fight, Aaron-san. Although I've never seen or heard of the God Flame Fox Goddess,Kyuubihime before."

"Ah, well…"

"The principal gave it to him when he found his wallet and returned it to him, saying that it's a gift for giving him his wallet back."

"I see, so it's a gift from the principal! So the rumor that he has legendary cards which only have 4 copies in this world is true! Wow, you sure are lucky, Aaron-san!"

"Ah, yeah…"

Aaron smiled as he gave his thanks to Akiye who bailed him out with her lie. Then without warning, Juchen suddenly appeared in front of him.

"Hey, Aaron! Please sell me that Kyuubihime to me! Even though it's not an Aqua Force… No, I'll break the clan rulings and turn her into an Aqua Force even if she's a Genesis!"

"Eh?!"

_"Don't you dare do that, A-chan! If you do, I'll eat you for breakfast!"_

"Now sell it to me!"

Just like that, a scene where Aaron ran away with Juchen chasing after him with glowing eyes and Kyuubihime/Sol Kage threatening him not to sell the card unfolded.

"…Stupid lolicon."


End file.
